The effects of design quality on quality performance

Theory construction and rigorous empirical testing is a relatively recent development in quality management. A key issue in theory development is the distinction between quality management practices and quality performance which to date has been blurred under the broad heading of quality. The emphasis in recent empirical studies has been on the relationship between quality practices and quality performance. However, the various dimensions of quality performance and the relationship between them have received less attention from the research community. More specifically, the role of design quality has not been fully addressed in empirical studies. To address this gap we developed a path model incorporating design quality, conformance quality, external quality-in-use, product cost, time-to-market and customer satisfaction. The model was tested with data collected from 351 manufacturing companies in the Republic of Ireland. Analysis of the data indicated considerable support for the conceptual model.