Total quality management implementation in culturally diverse contexts: an insights from the Nigerian five-star hotel industry.

This research investigates the implementation of Total Quality Management within Nigeria's five-star hotel sector, a context characterised by significant cultural diversity. It addresses a notable gap in the quality management literature by examining TQM in an under-researched sub-Saharan African hospitality context and exploring how cultural diversity influences managerial practices and operational performance. Grounded theoretically in Cameron and Quin's (2011) Competing Values Framework, Synergy (Forrester, 1961) and systems (Bertlanffy, 1968) thinking, the study aims to identify the principal barriers, critical success factors, and cultural dynamics shaping the adoption and effectiveness of TQM in this setting. Methodologically, a qualitative approach was employed, comprising semi-structured interviews with 12 senior hotel professionals across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. These interviews provided detailed data and analysed thematically using NVivo software to ensure rigorous coding and robust theme development. Findings reveal that TQM implementation faces substantial barriers, notably strong unionisation, cultural misalignment between imported quality practices and local norms, and significant resource constraints, particularly in staff training and infrastructure. Despite these obstacles, several context-specific enablers emerged, including cultural competence training programmes that enhance cross-cultural understanding and multilingual workforce strategies that improve communication and consistent service delivery across linguistic groups. The research also uncovers distinct cultural factors influencing managerial decision-making, specifically workplace spirituality shaping employee values, clan-based governance prioritising community and familial obligations, and a hierarchical leadership style reflecting high power-distance norms. These insights underpin the proposed explanatory framework that refines the CVF by incorporating participative leadership, accommodation of religious practices, and cultural feedback mechanisms. This framework dynamically aligns TQM processes with evolving cultural expectations, representing a sophisticated theoretical contribution by extending Cameron and Quinn's (2011) CVF to suit culturally diverse environments better. Practically, the research provides hotel managers with strategic guidelines for reconciling global quality standards with local cultural imperatives. Critically, the study advances scholarly debate on the relationship between national culture and quality management, highlighting significant implications for management practice by challenging its universal assumption. It concludes by advocating longitudinal and quantitative research to validate and further refine the proposed model, emphasising the necessity for continued examination of TQM's cultural adaptability across diverse contexts.

Author dc:creator

• Ushie, Mark Clement

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• P. Bremner, S. Burnett and C. Air

• Total quality management
• Organisational culture
• Hospitality industry
• Leadership
• Service quality
• Competing values framework
• Five-star hotels
• Luxury hotels
• Elite hotels
• Highly rated hotels
• Nigeria

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:3027006
https://doi.org/10.48526/rgu-wt-3027006

Author Identifier

0000-0002-2462-2774

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:3027006