The Impact of Total Quality Management on Customer Behavior and Organizational Performance- Scandinavian Textile Industry

Abstract

This study investigates how Total Quality Management (TQM) affects organizational perfor-mance in the Scandinavian textile industry, with customer behaviour playing a mediating role. The study examined if TQM practices such as strong leadership, continuous improvement, customer focus, and employee training lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty and if these customer-related factors then contribute to organizational efficiency, competitive advantage, and sustainability.

A mixed method in this thesis has been used, and the quantitative data included a question-naire distributing professionals from Scandinavian textile firms. On the other hand, qualitative data were obtained through interviews and corporate sustainability reports of five pio-neer Norwegian companies. The relationships that were hypothesized have been examined by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

The findings show that TQM has a clear positive effect, it strengthens continuous improve-ment, which boosts customer behaviour (such as satisfaction and loyalty), and it also directly improves organizational performance. Importantly, customer behaviour partly explains how TQM leads to better performance, meaning it acts as a bridge between quality practices and business results. All three research hypotheses were strongly supported. The qualitative in-sights further confirmed that successful TQM relies on committed leadership, engaged employees, digital tools, and a genuine focus on sustainability.

Since the study only collected data at one point in time, it cannot prove cause-and-effect relationships. Furthermore, as it purely concentrated on the Scandinavian textile industry, the results might not be transferable to other sectors or geographical areas. Organizations can leverage TQM not merely as a quality control tool but as a strategic philosophy that drives customer loyalty, operational efficiency, and long-term competitiveness.

This research fills an important gap by showing—through real data—how TQM influences both customer behaviour and organizational performance in a Nordic textile context, where sustainability and circular economy principles are becoming increasingly central.