QUALITY MANAGER INVOLVEMENT AND QUALITY PERFORMANCE

As the importance of quality managers has dramatically increased in th e past two decades, it has been suggested that management of the quali ty function requires expertise in areas other than the quality field i tself. Nevertheless, to date, extensive research has not been directed towards identifying the expertise required of a quality manager or th e day-to-day functions which will enhance the manager's ability to suc ceed. Tests empirically the quality manager's effect on the quality pe rformance of a firm, depending on the manager's involvement in: strict ly the quality field; quality-related fields; and other functions. A c ross-sectional mail survey was employed and a causal model was develop ed to test seven propositions using path analysis (OLS). Results stron gly suggest that quality managers' main focus must be on the quality f ield, though they may perceive that their involvement in related field s could contribute significantly to the quality performance of their o rganizations.