Effect of Total Quality Management Practices on Competitive Advantage of Transport and Logistics Firms in Mombasa County, Kenya
Abstract
TQM is a significant system of management for uninterrupted improvements to bring
about competitive advantage. Today customers are insisting for quality in products and
services. A company that meets such demands gains competitive advantage over
competitors. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of total quality
management on competitive advantage in transport and logistics firms in Mombasa
County. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive survey design which was
considered as the most appropriate time horizon because information was gathered at a
particular point in time or over a short time span. The target population 61 transport and
logistics firms in Mombasa County and due to the small size of this population, there was
no sampling hence the study was a census survey. A semi structured questionnaire was
the main data collection instrument. An aggregate of 61 questionnaires were circulated
among the study population, of which 43 of the respondents managed to provide
feedback on the questionnaires, representing 72% response rate which was considered
adequate. Data analysis with the help of SPSS produced descriptive statistics and
correlation results. The results showed that customer focus has been implemented to a
great extent followed by leadership and top management commitment while learning
organization and teamwork and employee commitment have been implemented to a small
extent. Overall, TQM has been adopted to a moderate extent and the impact of TQM on
competitive advantage is also moderate. The study recommends that managers should
look at TQM as a management principle that is more than leadership, customer focus,
systems, organization culture, team work, supplier relationship or training. It is a
combination of all the TQM practices and successful implementation implies that effort
and endurance are compulsory to find harmony for each organization.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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