Sustainability through TQM practices in the food and beverages industry

Purpose: The study aims to examine the connection between practices of total quality management (TQM) and sustainability in Malaysia food and beverages companies (FBC). Continuous process improvement, benchmarking, management leadership, human resources management, quality assurance, service design and information and analysis as TQM practices are considered and their relationship, respectively, with sustainable performance. Design/methodology/approach: A survey questionnaire is administered to gather responses from 303 FBC, while 98 responses are useable and subsequently analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings: The results reveal that effective implementation of continuous process improvement, benchmarking, quality assurance, service design and information and analysis have positive and significant effect on sustainability. Research limitations/implications: The scope of the present study was limited to FBC in Malaysia, and a cross-sectional design was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships at a single point in time. Practical implications: The proposed and developed model of this study can be employed by policy and decision makers in the industry. This model can be considered by practitioners in the industry to implement critical policies in the future. Originality/value: The premises of the institutional and contingency theory are supported by re-affirming the importance of contingencies and institutions for any successful strategic practices to enhance sustainable performance by implementing TQM.