National Culture in Quality Management Research

Ever since Geert Hofstede first introduced the value dimensions model, national culture has been one of the most important research topics in business research altogether, and the same goes for quality management research. Implementation of quality management systems and principles in an organization is dependent on the environmental context and dominant cultural values. However, changes in international markets and trends, such as globalization, have acted as drivers of both organizational and national isomorphism. This has led to questions being asked about the relevance of national culture in contemporary quality management research. In order to answer these questions this paper provides a review of literature on national culture in quality management research. The aim of the paper is to analyze different models of national culture and key research topics in the field of quality management and national culture. To provide a more meaningful insight the paper also discusses critiques of national culture construct and offers new directions for future research of the role national culture plays in quality management research.