Mitigating the environmental concerns through total quality management and green manufacturing practices

Area of Science:

• Business Administration
• Environmental Science
• Operations Management

Background:

• Manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face increasing pressure to improve environmental performance (EP).
• Integrating management practices with operational strategies is crucial for achieving sustainability goals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) and Environmental Performance (EP) in manufacturing SMEs.
• To examine the mediating role of Green Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in the TQM-EP link.
• To assess the moderating effect of environmental strategy on the GMPs-EP relationship.

Main Methods:

• Data collected via questionnaires from manufacturing SME managers.
• Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Total Quality Management (TQM) demonstrated a significant positive impact on Environmental Performance (EP).
• Green Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) were found to partially mediate the relationship between TQM and EP.
• Environmental strategy significantly moderated the link between GMPs and EP.

Conclusions:

• TQM adoption, coupled with GMPs and a defined environmental strategy, can substantially enhance the environmental performance of manufacturing SMEs.
• Findings offer practical insights for SME managers seeking to improve sustainability.
• The study highlights the importance of a holistic approach integrating management, operations, and strategy for environmental gains.