This study seeks to investigate the relationship between quality management practices and sustainability performance as well as the moderating effects from quality management implementation timeline, type of industry, and firm size on this relationship. Data were collected from enterprises in Vietnam from July 2016 to March 2017. Based on a sample of 144 valid responses, empirical results indicate that quality management practices have mixed impacts on economic performance and environmental performance, while show positive impact on social performance. The results found four quality management practices that have significantly positive impact on sustainability performance: top management support for quality management, design for quality, quality data and reporting, and continuous improvement. These practices could be considered as critical quality management factors that significantly contribute to sustainability goals. Furthermore, the study found significant moderating effects of three contextual factors on the relationship between quality management practices and sustainability performance. The study enriches the literature on quality management and sustainability management, and offers some important insights into efficient allocation of resources to achieve sustainability goals.

Sustainable services are often regarded as sustainable strategies and operations producing goods and services that satisfy customer needs and significantly improve social and environmental performance. To be sustainable, service providers must satisfy consumers’ needs or otherwise they will become redundant and economically irrelevant. This paper presents the results of an empirical study on the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty in life-insurance services in Vietnam based on a database collected through a questionnaire survey of 1476 customers during 2017. A path analysis technique is applied to test the proposed framework on the direct and indirect relationship between variables. The results of statistical analysis indicate that customer satisfaction in life-insurance services is significantly explained by such factors as corporate image, service quality and perceived value. Our findings suggest that a life-insurance service provider should focus on enhancing service quality and corporate image in order to obtain customer satisfaction that leads to customer loyalty.

This paper presents the results of an empirical study investigating the relationship between Total quality management (TQM) practices, Just-in-time (JIT) production practices, and flexibility performance in manufacturing companies. Correlation and regression analysis are applied to analyze the data collected from 280 manufacturing plants in 12 countries including China, Finland, German, Italy, Israel, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Vietnam from 2013 to 2015 in the framework of a High Performance Manufacturing Project. The analytical results confirm the closed linkage between TQM, JIT production practices and flexibility performance. Moreover, this study indicates that the effect of JIT production practices on flexibility performance can be strengthened with a higher level of TQM practices. The main findings of this study suggest that flexibility performance can be built up by implementing both TQM and JIT production practices, and TQM should be regarded as the platform to maximize the effect of JIT production on flexibility performance.

This study constructs multi-item scales to measure key components of managerial and technological innovations and examines their impact on operational performance. It also examines the direct effects of managerial and technological innovations on customer satisfaction as well as the indirect effects through operational performance. Data were collected from 214 manufacturing plants in the machinery, electrical and electronics and automobile industries in seven countries - Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea and the USA. We find that managerial innovation significantly and positively affects overall operational performance, quality performance, delivery performance, and flexibility performance. The results show that technological innovation significantly and positively affects overall operational performance, cost performance, delivery performance, flexibility performance, and innovative performance. We also find that both types of innovation have a direct effect and an indirect effect through operational performance on customer satisfaction.