Developing a revised QFD technique to meet the needs of multiple-customer groups: a case of public policy analysis

The objective of this paper is to develop a revised quality function deployment (QFD) to meet the needs of multiple-customer groups by using Mitchell et al.'s [(1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853-886] stakeholder theory. For the modern enterprise, the capability of providing customer-requested qualified products and services equates to a competitive advantage. To this end, QFD was developed as a set of systematic tools to satisfy customers' needs; however, most previous studies related to QFD deployment processes have dealt only with the issue of how to satisfy the demands of single-customer groups, with no consideration given to ways in which to satisfy the needs of multiple-customer groups. This study tries to develop a revised QFD technique in order to meet the needs of multiple-customer groups by using Mitchell's stakeholder theory. This revised QFD technique includes three deployment processes for satisfying multiple customers' needs, in relation to the following stakeholder types: latent stakeholders, expectant stakeholders and definitive stakeholders. In order to demonstrate how the proposed technique works, an empirical case study is conducted using a policy analysis for the construction of the No. 5 National Highway in Taiwan.