SWP 2003 / 11 Project Quality Management Standards – Are they applicable to SMEs in Trade ?

Project quality management is becoming increasingly significant as the demand for complying with quality standards is becoming almost a necessity in business processes. Holistic quality management programs, including the national quality award programs, six sigma initiatives, and enterprise resource planning applications characterize the highest level of quality initiatives and arguably the most popular the ISO 9000 program. Most SMEs seem to take on project quality management initiatives due to external pressures such as regulations, competition or perceived success. In this study, we define quality standards, and then conduct a field investigation within three SMEs in Trade. This research has been undertaken using grounded theory – to build hypotheses that will provide the foundation for a framework in Project Quality Management implementation for SMEs. During this study the ISO 9000 program has evolved as the most relevant quality standard within the context of trade. We have found that SMEs may have diverse agendas for their quality implementation and that quality certification does not necessarily result in better performance. Success – as defined by their own parameters – has evolved as the key motivator in SMEs initiating PQM processes. Our conclusions draw the synthesis of literature and empirical studies together to derive the final hypotheses – that may be validated further in providing a more suitable (cost) effective guideline for SMEs deciding to implement PQM. This study furthers academic research in IS practice as well as to provide a critical analysis for SMEs and the standardization bodies. There is a strong indication that SMEs are not benefiting from conventional initiatives. Introduction The concepts and philosophies of quality management within organizations have received much attention over the years. Initially popularized by Japanese [2], followed by Americans, several countries have initiated quality improvement programs. Some of these initiatives include ISO certification, Six Sigma initiatives, Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award [41] and more recently the capability maturity model or CMM [6, 7, 8, 9]. The sectors that have received wide attention in PQM initially were manufacturing and services [4]. Lately, with the development of information systems at