Knowledge Management and Total Quality Management Impact on Employee Effectiveness in Emerging Industries: Case of Tunisian Small and Medium Enterprises

Fatma Lehyani, Alaeddine Zouari (), Ahmed Ghorbel, Michel Tollenaere and José Carlos Sá
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Fatma Lehyani: OLID Laboratory LR19ES21: “Optimisation Logistique et Informatique Décisionnelle”, University of Sfax, Technopole of Sfax, BP 1164, Sfax 3021, Tunisia
Alaeddine Zouari: OLID Laboratory LR19ES21: “Optimisation Logistique et Informatique Décisionnelle”, University of Sfax, Technopole of Sfax, BP 1164, Sfax 3021, Tunisia
Ahmed Ghorbel: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of Sfax, R Airport Km4, BP14, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Michel Tollenaere: Grenoble Institute of Technology, University of Grenoble-Alpes, 46 Av. Felix Viallet, 38031 Grenoble, France
José Carlos Sá: School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto (ISEP), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: Employee effectiveness is highly important for all economic activities. Several factors can affect its degree, either positively or negatively. In this vein, this work aims to examine the impact of knowledge management and total quality management on employee effectiveness in the industry of emerging countries. For that, Tunisian small and medium enterprises were taken as an example. The proposed methodology consists first of providing a research model linking the correlation between knowledge management elements, total quality management practices, and employee effectiveness. Then, a survey was designed and broadcast to more than 3000 Tunisian small and medium enterprises. Hence, 206 responses were collected from several industrial fields, and collected data analysis was achieved by SPSS software. For testing research hypotheses, multiple regression analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were employed. The finding points out that total quality management and knowledge management have a positive impact on staff effectiveness. This impact is highlighted through the roles of knowledge management elements and total quality management practices on human resources behavior and their ability enhancement. Consequently, a significant increase in productivity can be seen in the operational processes of the company. This work is one of the first studies to research total quality management and knowledge management impact on staff effectiveness in Tunisian small and medium enterprises. Besides, it reflects the maturity and the awareness of respondent companies’ managers to the practice of these concepts in emerging economies.

Keywords: total quality management; knowledge management; employee effectiveness; structural equation modeling; empirical research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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