Relationships of TQM practices and employees' propensity to remain: an empirical case study

Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and employees' propensity to remain within a large Malaysian semiconductor packaging organization. Despite extensive research on TQM practices, none examines this scope of investigative study. Therefore, the proposed model was developed with the intention of examining this relationship.Design/methodology/approach – Original research using self‐completed questionnaires, distributed to all staff within this organization is thoroughly reported. The study sample consisted of 230 employees, resulting in a response rate of 76.6 percent. A questionnaire developed by Udo, Guimaraes and Igbaria was adapted for ascertaining the level of employees' propensity to remain. Data were analyzed by employing correlation and simple linear regression analysis.Findings – The results revealed that customer focus, organizational trust, organizational communication, employee involvement and empowerment are pos...