Motivations for Implementing a System of Quality Management in Spanish
7.4 Data Analysis
To analyze the reasons that lead or may lead Thalassotherapy Centers to implement a QMS, a descriptive analysis was carried out and based on the mean scores obtained (Table 7.2 ), we can say that improving the quality of services provided is the most
Table 7.2 Descriptive analysis motivations Motivations
Mean (from 1 to 7)
Standard deviation (MO9) Improving the quality of services provided 6.7742 0.66881 (MO6) Improving internal processes/procedures 6.6774 0.79108 (MO10) Creating quality awareness in the company 6.5806 0.76482 (MO7) Improving company control and effi ciency 6.4839 0.81121
(MO8) Base for Total Quality Management 6.3548 0.55066
(MO1) Strengthening competitive advantage over competitors 5.5161 1.33843
(MO12) Anticipating competitors 5.3871 1.14535
(MO5) Corporate level decision 5.3548 1.35520
(MO11) Belief that certifi cation will give an advantage over competitors
5.2903 1.29598
(MO3) Certifi ed competitors 4.9355 1.50412
(MO2) Customer requirements 4.7419 1.45986
(MO4) Requirement to compete in the sector 4.3871 2.06038
Source: Author’s
valued (6.7742), followed by improvement of internal processes/procedures (6.6774) and creating quality awareness in the company (6.5806), as well as improv- ing company control and effi ciency (6.4839). Requirement to compete in the sector is the least valued (4.3871), followed by customer requirements (4.7419) and certifi ed competitors (4.9355).
We compare these results with other studies, Buttle ( 1997 ), Tang and Kam ( 1999 ), Torre et al. ( 2001 ), Escanciano et al. ( 2001 ), Magd and Curry ( 2003 ), Zaramdini ( 2007 ) and Cruz Ros ( 2007 ), who examined the motivations that lead organizations to implement an insurance system based on the ISO 9000 standard in countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Spain, Egypt and United Arab Emirates (Dubai). They all used samples consisting of companies in different sectors (industry, construction and services).
These investigations reached similar conclusions to this study, since they suggest that the most important motivations are to improve the quality of products or ser- vices, to improve internal processes and procedures and maintain or increase market share. The order of these variables varies from one study to another. Also, the least important motivations are reducing costs, which is a government policy require- ment, customer requirement and competitive pressure. Therefore, we can conclude that the results of this study are consistent with previous fi ndings. In Spain and in the tourism sector Álvarez García et al. ( 2012 ) obtained similar results in a study conducted in the hotel accommodation sector, as the one conducted in Spanish Spas (Álvarez García et al. 2013 ).
Continuing the analysis, the student-T statistical test was proposed in order to check for signifi cant differences in motivations, depending on whether the Thalassotherapy Center has some QMS implemented or not. Twenty-four centers do not have any QMS implemented or certifi ed and seven centers do have some QMS implemented and certifi ed (ISO 9001, ISO14001 standard or both). The results show no signifi cant differences in motivations regarding the existence of a QMS implemented and certifi ed in the Thalassotherapy Center.
In order to comply with the third objective of this research, the exploratory facto- rial analysis of principle components with varimax rotation on the data is applied, with the aim of grouping the 12 motivations into other variables to replace them, losing as little information as possible. First, we must check whether the exploratory factorial analysis can be carried out by examining the correlation matrix, the Bartlett’s Test of sphericity, measure of adequacy of the sample and the KMO index (Table 7.3 ).
The indicators meet all the minimum requirements. In the correlation matrix we note that there are no variables with low ratios, so therefore we can take all the vari- ables in the analysis into account. In many cases this correlation is greater than 0.5, and to ensure that there is no independent variable, we check that there is at least one p-value lower than 0.05 for each variable. As for Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity, it shows that the Chi-square is high and with a level of signifi cance less than 0.05, proving that the variables are not independent of each other and it is appropriate to do the analysis. Regarding the measure of sampling adequacy Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin, it is higher than 0.5 minimum allowed. All parameters analyzed indicate that it is feasible to proceed with factor analysis.
Continuing the analysis, we rotate the matrix components by the varimax method to facilitate its interpretation, eliminating those factor loadings with a value less than 0.4 minimum considered 1 (Table 7.3 ). Regarding the variance, it is 67.329 % which exceeds the minimum requirement of 50 %. Cronbach’s 2 Alpha which measures the reliability of the scale is greater than 0.8 recommended minimum (0.868). The results enable to identify two factors (Table 7.4 ).
1 Though the aim with this method is to minimize the number of signifi cant loadings on each factor, sometimes, there are variables with high loadings on several factors; in these cases, it should be considered when interpreting the factor (Hair et al. 1999 :101).
2 This coeffi cient assesses the internal consistency of the scale through the correlation of each of the variables with the rest of the scale. The literature widely uses this statistic as a measure of reli- ability (Nunnally 1979 ), recommending a statistical value greater than 0.8 (Grande and Abascal 2000 ). Reliability refers to the degree to which a measure is free from random error, and therefore provides consistent results if measurements are repeated (Sánchez Pérez and Sarabia Sánchez 1999 :367), i.e., it evaluates if it generates the same results in successive performed applications for the same individuals, as well as in similar situations (Babbie 1995 ).
Table 7.3 Indicators of the degree of association between variables and rotated matrix Indicator
Correlation matrix
Correlation matrix determinant
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity
Measure of adequacy of
the sample Index KMO Scale
Motivations Variables correlated
4.14E-006 311.947 sig. 0.000
(0.570–
0.789)
0.623
Item
Factor 1 Factor 2
External Internal (MO1) Strengthening competitive advantage over
competitors
0.872
(MO2) Customer requirements 0.763
(MO3) Certifi ed competitors 0.720
(MO4) Requirement to compete in the sector 0.657
(MO5) Corporate level decision 0.762
(MO6) Improving internal processes/procedures 0.908
(MO7) Improving company control and effi ciency 0.873
(MO8) Base for Total Quality Management 0.471 0.625
(MO9) Improving the quality of services provided 0.901
(MO10) Creating quality awareness in the company 0.777
(MO11) Belief that certifi cation will give an advantage over competitors
0.886
(MO12) Anticipating competitors 0.704
Own value 4.479 3.600
% of variance explained by factor 37.326 % 30.003 % Accumulated % of variance explained 37.326 % 67.329 %
Standardized Cronbach’s alpha 0.868
Source: Author’s
Finally, we want to know which group of motivations is perceived by the Centers as the most important; internal motivations have a greater impact (6.5742) than external motivations (5.0876). These results contradict many studies conducted in the industrial sector, which found that the main reasons that lead companies to implement ISO 9001 are external (Vloeberghs and Bellens 1996 ; Withers and Ebrahimpour 1996 ; Casadesús, et al. 1998 ).
However, these results are consistent with those conducted by Álvarez García et al. ( 2012 ) on Hotel Accommodation and Álvarez García et al. ( 2013 ) on Spanish Spas, i.e., in the tourism sector and its QMS based on the “Q for Quality 3 ” and not on ISO 9001. Tarí and Pereira-Moliner ( 2012 ) obtained the same result, having conducted their research on hotels with “Q for Quality” certifi cation and found that the most important motivations for seeking certifi cation are internal, and also con- sidered it very important to pursuit customer satisfaction. Along the same lines, Alonso-Almeida et al. ( 2012 ) in a study conducted on hotels with ISO 9001 or Q quality certifi cation, found the same fi ndings.
These results are also consistent with those obtained by Cruz Ros ( 2007 ) in a study conducted in the service sector, in which he found that the most important motivations were those denominated internal motives of competitiveness, followed by effi ciency or internal management motives. The least regarded motives were those related to external or market issues.
The explanation of the increased importance of internal motives in the tourism sector compared to the results of studies carried out in industrial companies, which attribute greater importance to external motivations, could be supported by the results obtained by Cruz Ros ( 2007 :65), who examined “whether the set of motiva- tions for organizations to implement quality systems is different for those service companies that follow an assurance approach to those which follow a total quality approach.” Companies that focus on Total Quality Management (Q for Tourist Quality, intermediate standard between ISO and EFQM Model), have internal and effi ciency motives as the most important, predominating the goals established by the management team as the most important motive to carry out implementation.
3 “Q” of Quality Tourism is a distinction awarded to those establishments that meet the require- ments of the Spanish Tourism Quality System (SCTE), which encourages these businesses to achieve full customer satisfaction, the adequacy of services to expectations and optimize the resources available to a greater benefi t both for the client and the employer.
Table 7.4 Factor analysis results
Factor 1 : “External Motivations” are constituted by motivations related to obtaining and strengthening competitive advantages, satisfying customer requirements, decisions at corporate level, the existence of certifi ed competitors and anticipating other competitors, as well as industry requirements and laying the foundation for Total Quality Management (TQM)
Factor 2 : “Internal Motivations” are constituted by motivations related to the improvement of internal processes and procedures of the Centers, the quality of services, company control and effi ciency, as well as creating quality awareness in the company, laying the foundation for Total Quality Management (TQM)
In a work conducted by Del Río Rama et al. ( 2013 ), in the tourism sector, in particular in the rural accommodation sector with a QMS based on the Q for Quality, the results differ from those obtained in this study. Rural accommodation is mainly certifi ed by external motivations (improving company image, consolidating and increasing market share, etc.), it is also clear that the “Q for Quality” provides them with a better positioning in the market and differentiates them in the sector. These results coincide with those found by studies in the fi eld of ISO 9001, where the companies analyzed were seen to be certifi ed due to external motivations (Jones et al. 1997 ; Martínez Costa et al. 2008 ).
The explanation of the increased importance of external reasons in rural accommodation could be due to two facts. On the one hand, due to the small size of the establishments (especially in terms of employees), implying a greater con- cern for improving their image, increasing market share, etc., rather than for improving internal processes. This could be explained by Rodríguez-Antón et al.
( 2011 ), in their research on small hotels certifi ed “Q”, in which they tried to cor- roborate that external reasons are more important than internal reasons in the case of SMEs (Gustafsson et al. 2001 ). Several authors argue that pressure from cus- tomers and competitors is the main motivation for certifi cation for SMEs (Sun and Cheng 2002 ; Bendell and Boultier 2004 ; Boiral and Roy 2007 ). However, these authors in their study could not confi rm the relevance of external motiva- tions that appear to be just as operational. Therefore, it is very important to con- tinue research in this line.
On the other hand, the assurance approach followed by rural accommodation when implementing Q for Quality. Cruz Ros ( 2007 : 65) in his research proved that market-related reasons (pressure from competition, customers requirement…) have greater weight in companies that follow quality assurance approaches than in the rest of the companies that follow a total quality approach. This approach is sup- ported by numerous studies like (Rayner and Porter 1991 ; Brown and Van der Wiele 1995 ; Shih et al. 1996 ; Huarng et al. 1999 ; Beattie and Sohal 1999 ; Martínez Fuentes et al. 2000 ).