Possibilities of using quality management systems to undertake innovation activities in an organisation belonging to the chemical industry

Purpose: The main objective of this article is to identify the possibilities of using quality management systems to undertake innovation activities in an organisation representing the chemical industry. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review was carried out to find out the state of the research on the subject. It was conducted according to the research methodology proposed by J.W. Creswell (2013). Ten employees from one of the key departments of an organisation belonging to the chemical industry were interviewed. Findings: The interviewees are of the opinion that their organisation’s quality management system is a useful tool. However, if the system is to support innovation activities, employees should be trained more extensively, they should be provided with information on the potential benefits of quality improvement and innovations, competitions for best organisational solutions should be organised and the quality management system itself should be improved so that it is less documentation-intensive