Customization or Conformity? An Institutional and Network Perspective on the Content and Consequences of TQM Adoption
Item
Title
Customization or Conformity? An Institutional and Network Perspective on the Content and Consequences of TQM Adoption
Abstract/Description
This study develops a theoretical framework that integrates institutional and network perspectives on the form and consequences of administrative innovations. Hypotheses are tested with survey and archival data on the implementation of total quality management (TQM) programs and the consequences for organizational efficiency and legitimacy in a sample of over 2,700 U.S. hospitals. The results show that early adopters customize TQM practices for efficiency gains, while later adopters gain legitimacy from adopting the normative form of TQM programs. The findings suggest that institutional factors moderate the role of network membership in affecting the form of administrative innovations adopted and provide strong evidence for the importance of institutional factors in determining how innovations are defined and implemented. We discuss implications for theory and research on institutional processes and network effects and for the literatures on innovation adoption and total quality management.
Author/creator
Date
In publication
Volume
42
Issue
2
Pages
366-394
Resource type
Research/Scholarly Media
Resource status/form
Published Text
Scholarship genre
Theoretical
Empirical
Open access/full-text available
Yes
Peer reviewed
Yes
ISSN
0001-8392
DOI
Citation
Westphal, J. D., Gulati, R., & Shortell, S. M. (1997). Customization or Conformity? An Institutional and Network Perspective on the Content and Consequences of TQM Adoption. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(2), 366–394. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393924
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