TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO ENHANCE ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE BY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AS MEDIATING IN SMEs IN IRAQ

Effective improvement in quality has become a potentially precious way to boost competitiveness and organizational performance. This paper aims to assess for competitive advantage and organizational performance the effects of Total quality management (TQM) activities. A quantitative approach is used to obtain data from a survey (questionnaire) consisting of 38 items with a five-point Likert scale. The unit of analysis is small and medium food companies in Iraq. The respondents in this paper are the managers of departments. Smart PLS 3.2.9 was used to analyze the results. The findings of the path analysis of partial least squares (PLS) support variables in their hypothesised direct relationships with organizational performance. The analysis results suggest that competitive advantage partially mediates the relationship between (TQM) practices and organizational performance. The paper provides many suggestions that are helpful both for researchers and policymakers to undertake more research in this area as well as to enhance the (CA) and (OP) of organisations in the future.