The influence of soft and hard quality management practices on performance

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the practices of soft quality management and hard quality management, and to investigate the direct and indirect effects of soft and hard quality management on firm performance. The paper proposes several hypotheses relating to the relationship between soft quality management factors, hard quality management and performance. To test these hypotheses, the paper uses a sample of 255 electrical and electronics firms fromMalaysiaas the data source, and structural equation model (SEM) as the statistical tool. The findings show that soft quality management factors have a positive influence on hard quality management; hard quality management has a direct effect on performance and soft quality management factors have direct and indirect effects on performance. Consequently, hard quality management acts as a mediating variable between soft quality management factors and performance. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]