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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
Westphal, James D.
Gulati, Ranjay
Shortell, Stephen M.
Date
1997
In publication
Administrative Science Quarterly
Volume
42
Issue
2
Pages
366-394
Resource type
en Research/Scholarly Media
Resource status/form
en Published Text
Scholarship genre
en Theoretical
en Empirical
Open access/full-text available
en Yes
Peer reviewed
en Yes
ISSN
0001-8392
DOI
10.2307/2393924
URL
Official Publisher's Webpage (JSTOR)
Open Access PDF (Texas ScholarWorks)
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
Cited in
Cross-Sector Research on Continuous Learning and Improvement
Item sets
OB Citations - Cross-Sector Research on Learning and Improvement

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