Perceived psychological empowerment and TQM-based Quality management systems: an exploratory research

Although much has been written about total quality management (TQM) and employee involvement, little attention has been paid to individual-level determinants of employees’ involvement in such a context. Moreover, studies highlight differences between employers’ and employees’ perceptions of human resources practices, especially in what empowerment concerns. The main purpose of this research was to analyse potential differences in the perception of empowerment in employees without leadership duties between TQM-based companies and non-TQM-based companies. Results showed significant statistical differences in some dimensions of empowerment among the two groups of companies. To our knowledge, no previous study has ever investigated this issue. As a result, our research brings new insights into the TQM framework, especially in what concerns employees’ behaviour.