Impact of TQM Practices on SMEs Performance in Pakistan: Information Technology Turbulence as a Moderator

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. This study considered how Information Technology Turbulence (ITT) by acting as a moderating factor in the era of technological advancements influenced the firm’s performance. The study compared the export performance of SMEs in the sports goods manufacturing sector over the last five years till 2021. About 361 questionnaires were chosen at random for study those were distributed and personally collected, the collected data analysed by using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The research indicated that ITT moderated the association of practicing features of TQM as a major player with the SMEs’ performance. These revelations provided a better understanding of how TQM practices together with ITT affected SME performance, which is beneficial for researchers and policymakers. The researcher used a quantitative approach based on cross-sectional data. The conceptual model in this study intends to propose TQM practices as exogenous and ITT as a moderating variable on the performance of SMEs. This study will be useful for people in strategic positions to make decisions by providing a working ground on factors significance to enhance the SMEs’ performance.