An empirical examination of quality tool deployment patterns and their impact on performance

Although research suggests that quality management initiatives often fail t o meet managers' expectations, few studies consider that an inappropriate c hoice of quality tools may adversely affect the results. This paper analyse s the pattern of quality tool deployment and its impact on performance usin g a sample of 313 North American and European firms. The analysis reveals t hat four primary types of quality tool applications occur: Human Resource ( HR) tools, Design tools, Discipline tools and Measurement tools. Several si gnificant relationships between these dimensions and quality performance we re found, suggesting that successful tool deployment often depends on compe titive conditions and internal strategies.