The impact of total quality management on firm competitiveness by the mediating role of product and process innovation

Nowadays, the global market has become a highly competitive place where both quality and innovation play vital roles in the survival of companies. Companies can improve their competitiveness by increasing their innovation. Competitive advantage and organizational performance can be improved by the institutionalization of innovation in organizational culture. So far, very few studies have examined the relationships among the dimensions of innovation and different aspects of a company's performance and, in particular, competitiveness. Previous studies have not examined the concepts of competitiveness and innovation performance in the textile industry; therefore, the scale of competitiveness and innovation performance in these studies does not provide an accurate picture of the status of these variables in the industry. In addition, most previous studies have not explicitly addressed the performance of product and process innovation. Despite the research view that quality management practices improve performance in areas such as innovation and business, there is no complete research that covers the quality management, innovation performance and competitiveness of companies in the textile industry.Given that the textile industry in the world is an industry with intense competition and the active presence of large transnational corporations, competition in it goes beyond the national borders of countries and puts a lot of competitive pressure on companies active in this field. The textile industry is one of the most important and influential components of a country's economy, which has undoubtedly faced several challenges due to the globalization of the economy, including lack of competitiveness. Obviously, in such a situation, in order to maintain the position and create added value for customers, companies active in the textile industry are forced to improve their quality and ability to innovate. Therefore, considering the importance of competitiveness in today's competitive economy, the purpose of this study is to find whether total quality management and innovation performance have significant impacts on the competitiveness of companies in the textile industry.

The present study is an applied research work in terms of purpose and a type of descriptive-correlative study in terms of data collection and analysis. A standard questionnaire was used to measure the impact of total quality management on firm competitiveness by the mediating role of product and process innovation. The statistical population of the study consisted of the firms active in the textile industry. The available sampling method and Cochran's formula were used to obtain the sample size. Structural equation modeling was also used to test the research hypotheses and examine the relationships among the latent factors.

The significant coefficients obtained for total quality management with product innovation, process innovation and competitiveness are 6.81, 7.94 and 5.41, respectively. Therefore, TQM has a significant impact on product innovation, process innovation and competitiveness. The coefficients of significance for product innovation and process with competitiveness are 7.75 and 6.54, respectively. Therefore, product and process innovation has a significant effect on competitiveness. The significant coefficient obtained for the indirect effect of TQM and competitiveness through the mediating variables of product innovation and process innovation is 52.77 and 51.92, respectively. Therefore, TQM has a significant effect on competitiveness. As a result, the mediating role of product innovation and process innovation in the above two variables is proved.

Quality management is considered as a precondition and a basis for product and process innovation in order to have real competitiveness. To improve their competitive position in the market, companies must focus on developing strong competitive capabilities. This study provides evidence for a relationship between two sources of competitive advantage, namely quality management and product and process innovation. In particular, quality management practices, such as leadership and top management support, training and participation of employee, information and learning, process management, and customer focus, enable companies to innovate in products and processes. Innovation performance strategy has been one of the main drivers of company competition that should be implemented as an integral part of a business strategy. Therefore, companies should focus on improving product innovation and process innovation to improve their business performance and competitiveness. The globalization and the rapid development of technology have made innovation a key factor in the success of international business. Innovation is the source of competitive advantage in international markets and is a vital predictor of a company's export performance. It is essential to improve competitiveness in international markets, enabling companies to take advantage of economic benefits and overcome the size constraints of domestic markets.