Performance measures and quality tools in Portuguese small and medium enterprises: survey results

Abstract

This paper describes a survey that was undertaken at the initial stage of a research project looking at performance measures and quality tools. Its objective was to determine the level of knowledge of performance measures and their degree of implementation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal. It also addressed the level of use of quality tools in the same companies, since they provide some degree of integration between the external requirements of a business and its internal activities and performance (Gregory, 1993). Most research to date has concentrated on large companies and so an important part of this work is to assess whether or not SMEs can adopt similar approaches with respect to quality, or in general, to management methodologies. For example, are ISO standards, TQM, balanced scorecard, or other excellence models beneficial to all companies and how are they implemented? The paper starts with a brief literature review and then presents the methodology used for the survey, the questionnaire construction and the pilot study. The full survey is described together with a comprehensive analysis of the results, including respondent bias and questionnaire reliability and validity. The general opinions of Portuguese SMEs with regard to performance measurement, the most important measures to use and the biggest obstacles to their adopting new ones are discussed. The paper culminates with an analysis of quality tools and the conclusions drawn from the study.

Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by British Chevening Scholarships (Grant POR0100109) and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Grant SFRH/BD/6939/2001). The authors are grateful to Eng. Luis Fonseca and to Eng. Tavares de Oliveira for their stimulating discussion and contribution to this work.