Can Start-up Businesses Achieve Business Performance? An Overview of the "Soft" Total Quality Management Concept

According to the literature, quality management consists of a series of critical components that have a purpose. This study test the impact of the "Soft" TQM aspects on the business performance of startups. To make it better understood by startup owners, construction models were made to show the situation of 171 startups in Surabaya regarding these elements. To achieve this goal, a literature review and a survey were conducted on 171 startups in two categories: technology and non-technology startups. The results of this study reflect that start-up companies must consider factual approaches, such as considering the quality of suppliers and the processes in them. The study also found that startups began to consider the needs of consumers rather than only focusing on an innovative dynamic solution as their main goal. This study shows the elements in the "Soft" aspects of TQM that are important to be maintained and made continuous improvements by the startups so that they have a competitive advantage.