The TQM journey of Hong Kong building contractors: From a self-assessment perspective

Purpose - This paper aims to explore to what extent the total quality management (TQM) is practised by Hong Kong large-sized public listed building contractors (PLC) and non-listed building contractors (NLC), and what management areas need more attention in order to achieve the TQM spirit of continuous improvement. 
Design/methodology/approach - This paper reports the investigation results of the six TQM practices (X1-X6) by Hong Kong large-sized building contractors via a self-assessment questionnaire survey, which is modified from the contents of the self-assessment questionnaire designed by the Baldrige National Quality Program. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, multivariate tests and correlation matrix were employed to analyze the results. 
Findings - The survey results show that there is a significant difference in the six TQM practices between the PLC and the NLC through one-way ANOVA. PLC out-performed NLC in strategic planning (X2), particularly the practice of development and deployment of strategy. Moreover, strong correlations existed between the TQM practices of X1 (leadership) and X2, X2, and X5 (human resource focus), and X6 (process management) and X5. Therefore, PLC should pay more attention to the management areas of X1, X2, X5, and X6. Furthermore, NLC should enhance and balance their TQM practices as suggested by the tests of between-subjects effects. 
Practical implications - Hong Kong building contractors should pay more attention to the strategic planning, human resources management and process management in order to attain the goal of continuous improvement and thus the business excellence of TQM. 
Originality/value - The study shows that there is a significant difference in practising the six TQM (Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award) criteria between PLC and NLC in strategic planning (X2).
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