Organizational resilience through quality management: a study on the impact of the implementation of quality management principles on resourcefulness

Abstract

As Darwin noted, “it's not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change”. Organizations have long been investing heavily to ascertain a better future, in particular, they have embraced quality management systems in pursuit of their goals. However, change and adverse conditions necessitate not only quality and high performance, but also resilience. This research aims to investigate the relationship between quality management and organizational resilience. It examines the impact ISO 9001 implementation has on resourcefulness (the main component of resilience) in public organizations. It also examines how organizational structure affects the relationship between ISO 9001 implementation and resourcefulness. Using semi-structured interviews, the research seeks to address the gap in the literature regarding the potential impact quality management initiatives have on resourcefulness. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by integrating and expanding the literature on resourcefulness. It will also provide empirical evidence on the proposed relationships. For more robustness, an insider-outsider approach is used for knowledgeable reflection on the findings by a senior and experienced member of the studied organization. The findings show that ISO does positively impact resilience within the context of the research. However, the impact attenuates under routine-based environments, while it flourishes under process-orientation. The findings demonstrate that the organizational structure plays the most important role when it comes to organizational resilience, indirectly by facilitating the implementation of the quality management system and directly by enhancing resourcefulness; thus, resilience.