Management quality, productivity and profitability in manufacturing firms in Zambia
This project's goal is to investigate how quality management practices affect productivity and profitability in the Zambian manufacturing industry. Many Zambian manufacturing companies have found themselves competing with the high-quality output of countries such as South Africa and China, which has led them to implement quality management initiatives. The project explores whether quality management practices could help enhance the productivity and profitability of Zambian manufacturing industry. The main research question is: how are quality management practices affecting productivity and profitability in the Zambian manufacturing industry? The underlying motivation of the project is to enhance managerial and policymaker understanding of the correlates between quality management practices, productivity, and profitability and thus, influence policy design and practice for leveraging the international competitiveness of Zambian manufacturing industry.
More specifically; the research project seeks to answer the following questions:
- How are quality management practices related with productivity in manufacturing firms in Zambia?
- How are quality management practices related with profitability in manufacturing firms in Zambia?
- To what extent is productivity a mediator between quality management and profitability in Zambian manufacturing firms?
