Quality methods in Australian small and medium sized enterprises: a research framework

Quality methods in Australian industry gained much attention in the late 1980s and for most of the 1990s. In particular, quality methods such as quality systems and quality system certification had prominence, as Governments and large private sector firms attempted to improve their supply-chains. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a rigorous and holistic approach to investigating the applicability of quality methods in Australian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It describes the research framework developed to further investigate the impact of quality methods on Australian SMEs, and illustrates how the framework leads to a broader exploratory study.