Kano's model of five categories of quality attributes – attractive, one-dimensional, must-be, indifferent, and reverse quality – is widely used by industries and researchers. However, the model has a deficiency that prevents firms from precisely evaluating the influences of quality attributes. The weakness is a failure to take account of the degree of importance accorded to certain quality elements by customers. Kano's model can be refined. The present study adds the importance of quality attributes and, in so doing, the refined model divides Kano's first four categories into eight categories – highly attractive and less attractive, high value-added and low value-added, critical and necessary, and potential and care-free. Based on the refined model, firms can obtain a more accurate understanding of the quality attributes from the customer's perspective, and can thus make more precise quality decisions. In addition to modifying Kano's model, the present study also develops an importance–satisfaction (I–S) model. By integrating the refined Kano's model and the I–S model firms can gather even more valuable information on quality decisions. The refined Kano's model and the I–S model are illustrated with a case study.

A difficulty facing companies today is the inadequacy of most cost-accounting systems in addressing quality costs and in supplying appropriate data in a suitable format that considers total cost. The main reason for this inadequacy is a lack of adequate methods for determining the financial consequences of poor quality associated with various quality activities. The present study addresses these needs by first refining the traditional ‘Prevention–Appraisal–Failure’ (PAF) categories of quality costs and hidden costs through the definition and addition of two new categories: ‘extra resultant cost’ and ‘estimated hidden cost’. Using this new categorization, the study then provides a detailed classification of the items of quality costs in terms of an expanded list of quality activities along the product life-cycle. The study then demonstrates the calculation of several kinds of total costs using different formats of a ‘cost of quality account matrix’, including a calculation of the sharing of responsibility for these costs among relevant departments.

In the past two decades, the pursuit of customer satisfaction has been the focus of business management. However, in an age of increasing competition, merely satisfying customers is not enough; rather, delighting customers has become essential for long-term success. Most studies of customer delight have focused on conceptual discussion or theoretical analysis, and there has been a lack of pragmatic methodology that can be applied by practitioners. To address this problem, the present study creates a ‘customer-delight barometer’ (CDB). This can be used to classify ‘delight-driving’ attributes and ‘satisfaction-driving’ attributes. Using this barometer, a ‘delight-driver satisfaction’ model and a ‘competitiveness index’ (CI) are also developed. The ‘delight-driver satisfaction’ model classifies the attributes into nine categories. Firms can then make precise decisions on proposed quality improvement according to the features of the categories in which the attributes are located. The CI can also be used to compare a firm's competitiveness with its competitors. A case study is provided to demonstrate the practical application of the models developed in this research. The study concludes that the CDB, the ‘delight-driver satisfaction’ model, and the CI are all useful tools for firms to utilise in pursuing customer delight and seeking to attain competitive advantage.

It is not sufficient for a contemporary firm to satisfy its customers; to be really successful, a firm must create value for its customers. In so doing, it will also derive value from its customers. The pursuit of both value for customers and value from customers is thus a ‘win–win’ strategy. In this regard, the present study first redefines the categories of customer value by suggesting a new category of ‘creative value’, and then discusses how this category of ‘creative value’ relates to other forms of ‘value’. The paper then explores the concepts inherent in the refined Kano's model and the actions associated with the ‘blue ocean’ strategy. Using these concepts, the study presents an integrated model of ‘value creation’ and explains how this model can be used to select appropriate practical actions to enhance customer value, and by implication, also enhance customer retention, customer acquisition, and customer margin – all of which make significant contributions to company profits. A case study is presented to illustrate the ease of application of the model in practice.

There is much research discussing the issues of core competence, core capability, business performance and corporate growth. But the lack of studies exploring their causality is an important research gap. In this research, we develop a framework of a core capabilities operation system, which systematically integrates these critical initiatives, and can be used to develop the extended model of business development. In order to conduct the empirical study, we also design a strategic map of an enterprises' long-term development model. In this model the elements of a fundamental field cultivate the core competences, and further develop the core capabilities. These core competences and capabilities are the drivers of core competitiveness, which force the long-term development and excellent business. Based on this framework, we can develop the structure equation model, and the related questionnaire for the empirical study, in order to determine the critical initiatives and the relationships among these constructs. Based on the analytic results, the causalities among these critical initiatives can be confirmed. We also discover that ‘good organisation culture’ and ‘excellent management team’ are the most important firm’ fundamentals, which support the successful implementation of core competences and core capabilities. Herewith the ‘specialised technologies’, ‘powerful IT system’ and capturing the customers' needs' are the core competences, and ‘product lifetime management’ and ‘total quality management’ are the important capabilities. Core competitiveness is composed of ‘business development strategies’, ‘leader of core products’, and ‘innovative products’, which can result in the firm's excellent business performances.

The Six Sigma program has been widely adopted by industries worldwide since the late-1990s due to GE’s successful implementation, though Motorola initiated it in 1987. Several quality experts, such as Juran and Feigenbaum and several researchers, have concluded that the poor quality in product design will cause vast and chronic costs, which the Six Sigma improvement may not eliminate. The focus of new product development is needed to transfer the quality improvement from the later phases of the Design Life Cycle to the early grades. It is necessary to adopt the “Design for Six Sigma” (DFSS) methodology to achieve the best performance in the early stages and focus on ‘prevention’ instead of ‘problem-solving. In this research, we develop a new DFSS process, including Define, Identify, Measure, Design, Optimize, and Verify (DIMDOV), based on the in-depth study of DFSS and the author’s rich consultant experience. The new DFSS process can be confirmed to be a robust methodology, used to assure the design quality of the product design and manufacturing process design by the application results.