The interplay of soft TQM practices and knowledge sharing: moderating role of market turbulence
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2021-0562 |
| Published date | 15 August 2022 |
| Date | 15 August 2022 |
| Pages | 2440-2464 |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems,Knowledge management,Knowledge sharing,Management science & operations,Supply chain management,Supply chain information systems,Logistics,Quality management/systems |
| Author | Ai-Fen Lim,Keng-Boon Ooi,Voon-Hsien Lee,Garry Wei-Han Tan |
The interplay of soft TQM
practices and knowledge sharing:
moderating role of
market turbulence
Ai-Fen Lim
UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and
Faculty of Business and Management, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Keng-Boon Ooi
UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nan Chang, China and
Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Taiwan
Voon-Hsien Lee
Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman –Perak Campus,
Kampar, Malaysia, and
Garry Wei-Han Tan
UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nan Chang, China and
School of Economics and Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
Abstract
Purpose –Emerging competitive dynamics demand small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to
continuously comprehend and respond to changing market conditions by implementing effective soft total
quality management (STQM) practices.Firstly, the study intends to identify the key STQM practices perceived
to foster knowledge sharing (KS). Secondly, this study aims to investigate the impact of market turbulence
(MT) on the interaction between STQM practices and KS among SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach –A total of 215 valid samples were analysed. Incorporating a two-hidden-
layer deep artificial neural network (ANN) into SEM approaches allows for more in-depth testing and high
prediction power. This study employs a two-stage PLS-SEM-ANN predictive-analytical technique to provide a
more comprehensive analysis and significant statistical contribution.
Findings –The PLS-SEM-ANN analysis reveals that STQM practices including employee involvement (EI),
employee training (ET), top management commitment (TMC) and employee teamwork (EM) are critical to
boosting KS. MT, interestingly, moderates the relationship between EM and KS while negatively moderating
the relationship between TMC and KS.
Originality/value –The study contributes to the knowledge-based view theory by demonstrating the
importance of integrating STQM and KS among SMEs to thrive in today’s dynamic market environment.
Keywords Soft TQM practices, Market turbulence, Knowledge sharing, Small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs), Artificial neural network analysis (ANN)
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
With the emergence of globalization, networking and intense competition, customer demands
become highly complex and unpredictable, inducing the market to experience some
IMDS
122,11
2440
This research is part of the author’s PhD works and was conducted while the author is a Ph.D. candidate
at UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0263-5577.htm
Received 21 September 2021
Revised 20 April 2022
8 June 2022
Accepted 13 June 2022
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 122 No. 11, 2022
pp. 2440-2464
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-09-2021-0562
turbulence (Qiu et al., 2020). Businesses must be capable of recognizing and responding to
changing market rules through the implementation of effective total quality management
(TQM) practices to meet customer expectations and growing comp etitive dynamics
(Negron, 2020). TQM, particularly on soft aspects, remains a critical concern for a business
organization seeking to be excellent and sustainable in this volatile market environment
(Zhang et al., 2016). Soft TQM (STQM) practices enable businesses to improve customer
satisfaction by emphasizing human capital development and are important for long-term
TQM implementation (Calvo-Mora et al., 2020).
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to income generation
and job creation in all developed and developing countries (Asgary et al., 2020). Thus, SMEs
are extremely important for both national and global economies because of their large
population of at least 90% in a country. Malaysian SMEs account for 99.3% of all businesses
and employed approximately 7.3 million Malaysians in 2019, accounting for 48.4% of total
employment in the country (DOSM, 2021). Additionally, in comparison to neighbouring
countries such as Singapore (54% skilled workers), Malaysia has a lower-skilled worker rate
of 28% in 2019, impeding its transition to becoming a developed nation (Siew et al., 2021). This
study identifies a need for Malaysia to prioritize human capital development, particularly
among SMEs. SMEs make a significant contribution to Malaysia’s economy. Nevertheless,
the majority of Malaysian SMEs fail to survive beyond the first five years due to poor
management strategies, human resource constraints and a lack of awareness of the ever-
changing environment required to satisfy customers (SME Corp. Malaysia, 2021;Perera,
2016). Malaysian SME growth has been slower than anticipated (Lee et al., 2021), thus,
research into improving its performance by harnessing human capacity in a turbulent
market, is urgently needed. Additionally, there is a dearth of empirical research on effective
management practices in Malaysian SMEs, with most prior research focusing on advanced
developed countries and large businesses. As such, Malaysian SMEs were chosen for the
current study to bridge the knowledge gap on STQM and gain a deeper understanding of the
KBV theory.
Market turbulence (MT) does affect the performance of SMEs. When MT is greater than
usual, preferable organizational culture and behaviour can be created among SMEs (Didonet
et al., 2012). Given that SMEs have a greater ability to adapt to changing market conditions
and have more flexibility to reformulate their current strategies (Turulja and Bajgoric, 2019).
Thus, strengthening SMEs’internal competencies in implementing effective STQM practices
is feasible to develop strong and knowledgeable manpower capable of resource allocation
during turbulent times. While prior research (e.g. Demirbag et al., 2006;Jim
enez-Jim
enez et al.,
2020) identified a connection between TQM practices and knowledge management, there is a
dearth of empirical studies examining the soft aspects of TQM on knowledge sharing (KS),
which is the antidote for sharing new knowledge and information to remain competitive and
sustainable in an uncertain environment. Furthermore, SMEs offer greater employee
flexibility and engagement than large businesses (Ben Arab, 2020), with this study observing
a higher success rate when implementing STQM to increase KS capacity. However, there is
still insufficient literature on whether STQM dimensions can promote KS, especially among
Malaysian SMEs. Also, there is a dearth of studies for implementing STQM in response to
external pressures. Since businesses operate in an unpredictable environment, external
factors such as MT have been identified as an important moderating variable in knowledge-
based view (KBV) theory (Ode and Ayavoo, 2020).
Given the above research gaps, the objective of this study is to identify the relevant soft
aspects of TQM that are perceived to promote KS among Malaysian SMEs. Consequently,
given the significance of MT as a key predictor of the external climate (Zhou et al., 2019), this
study seeks to determine the impact of MT as a moderator between the STQM practices and
KS. Consequently, the study raises two questions:
Soft TQM
practices and
knowledge
sharing
2441
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