STRATEGIC CONTROL-SYSTEMS FOR QUALITY - AN EMPIRICAL-COMPARISON OF THE JAPANESE AND UNITED-STATES ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

Management control systems should be designed to complement the strate gies pursued. Few empirical studies, however, have focused on manageme nt control systems for quality control and zero-defect strategies. Thi s study compares quality strategies and their relationships with manag ement control systems in the Japanese and U.S. electronics industry. T he results indicate that the quality strategies of U.S. manufacturing managers reflect adherence to zero-defect philosophies more than those of the Japanese managers. However, fewer U.S. managers receive manage ment control information to support these zero-defect strategies. Test s linking quality strategies to management control information provide limited evidence that those U.S. managers who have adopted zero-defec t strategies are more likely to receive modified management control in formation than U.S. managers who have not adopted zero-defect strategi es. In contrast, the data suggest that Japanese managers are provided with goal-setting and feedback information about quality performance r egardless of their adherence to a zero-defect versus a traditional qua lity management strategy, thus focussing workers' attention on continu ous quality improvement.