Analysis of total quality management (TQM) implementation in the biotechnology industry

Economics and Business Administration Department, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria

^* Corresponding author: kondev@uctm.edu

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the relevance of the Total Quality Management (TQM) model has increased significantly. TQM is becoming increasingly popular as organizations focus more on improving the quality of their products, services, and internal operations to increase customer value and gain competitive advantage. Organizations from the biotechnology sector play a significant role in the development of the national economy, the social sphere and employment. In such a situation, they face strong competitive advantages of competitors from all over the world, such as low costs and high productivity. The change in the amount of added value alone over the last 10 years leads to an increase of 35.2% per year. In 2009 is BGN 12 million, and in 2019 is BGN 208 million. That is why it is critical for them to improve their organizational performance through the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the individual components of TQM in organizations from the field of biotechnology and food industry and to determine its model in terms of engineering activities. Pre-designed questionnaires were used as a data collection instrument in the present study. Conducting semi-structured interviews with team leaders in a biotech manufacturing organization provides insight into the impact of TQM on competitiveness. These elements, leadership skills and supplier/customer relationships have been found to play an important role in improving overall performance.