Identifying Challenges Faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Afr^ica (MENA) Region Through Total Quality Management

This paper investigates the challenges faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a focus on how Total Quality Management (TQM) approaches can address these issues. Two surveys were conducted to identify and analyze the key challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) influencing SME performance. The first survey asked SME's CEOs to rate the impact of seven potential challenges on their SMEs. The findings revealed that customer satisfaction, supplier management, and managerial capacities are perceived as the most significant challenges. The second survey focused on evaluating the importance of various Critical success factors (CSFs). The results indicate that the eight identified CSFs are highly important for SMEs. The results of the ANOVA tests shows that the differences in the responses are not statistically significant. Overall, this research highlights the critical challenges and success factors for SMEs in the MENA region, and suggests that adopting TQM approaches, particularly through Deming's and Lean management approaches, can significantly enhance their performance and sustainability.