Unleashing the Importance of TQM and Knowledge Management for Organizational Sustainability in the Age of Circular Economy

Boyao Zhang, Ubaldo Comite, Ali Yucel, Xintao Liu, Mohammed Arshad Khan, Shahid Husain, Muhammad Safdar Sial, József Popp and Judit Oláh
Additional contact information
Boyao Zhang: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Ubaldo Comite: Department of Business Sciences, University Giustino Fortunato, 82100 Benevento, Italy
Xintao Liu: Economics and Management School, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan 430079, China
Mohammed Arshad Khan: Department of Accountancy, College of Administrative and Financial Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh 11673, Saudi Arabia
Shahid Husain: Department of Accountancy, College of Administrative and Financial Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh 11673, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Safdar Sial: Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
József Popp: Research Center, John von Neumann University, Izsáki út 10., 6000 Kecskemét, Hungary
Judit Oláh: College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: Despite the growing importance of the concept of circular economy, the case of developing countries remains under-explored. Against this backdrop, the present research aims to examine the association between the constructs of total quality management (TQM) and organizational sustainability (OS) with the mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) from the perspective of a circular economy. The data were collected from the manufacturing sector of a developing economy ( n = 510) to serve the purpose of the current research through a self-administered questionnaire (paper-pencil technique). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for hypothesis testing of the current survey. Six TQM dimensions were drawn from the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award (MBNQA) model. OS is composed of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, and KM is composed of four dimensions including acquisition, creation, sharing, and application of knowledge. The empirical examination suggests that TQM positively relates to OS, with KM playing a partial mediation role between this association. This study provides important insights for the management of the manufacturing industry of Pakistan on how to ensure organizational sustainability in the age of a circular economy by using the constructs of TQM and KM.

Keywords: organizational sustainability; knowledge management; total quality management; sustainable development; circular economy; linear economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:20:p:11514-:d:659103

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