The effect of total quality management practices on innovation: evidence from selected agricultural technical and vocational education training colleges in Ethiopia

Innovation is the adaptation of management systems to the changing conditions of the environment and is a key factor for organizations survival and growth. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of total quality management practices on innovation. The researcher employed a cross-sectional descripto-explanatory research design and also a quantitative research approach was used to collect and analyze primary data. In order to collect primary data a survey instrument was adapted from business quality management practices literatures and by using stratified sampling techniques 150 questionnaires were distributed to employees, senior and functional managers of the Colleges and only 140 questionnaires were fully filled and returned with a 93% response rate. The survey data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression analysis to investigate the relationship between total quality management practices dimensions on innovation. The findings of multiple regression analysis insured that in the Colleges all of the seven total quality management practices dimensions (management leadership, employee involvement, training and education, employee empowerment, customer focus, information and analysis and continuous improvement) have positive and significant relationship with innovation at 95% confidence level. From the seven total quality management practice dimensions, management leadership dimension with beta value of 0.174 was the most influential total quality management practice dimension to have positive and significant effect on innovation followed by customer focus with beta value of 0.131. Information and analysis dimension was the third influential dimension with beta value of 0.115, followed by continuous improvement dimension with beta value of 0.113. Employee involvement dimension was the fifth influential dimension with beta value of 0.111, followed by training and education with beta value of 0.092. Finally employee empowerment dimension was the least influential dimension to have positive and significant effect on innovation with beta value of 0.080. Also, regression result also shows that in the Colleges, the fore mentioned seven dimensions of total quality management practices explained 88.3% of the variations in innovation. Therefore the researcher recommended that the management bodies of the colleges should give their employees a high degree of autonomy in order to do their job and participate in the implementation of total quality management practices so as to increase their innovativeness. Additionally, the management bodies of the Colleges should establish their quality management systems according to the requirement of ISO 9001:2008 standards to increase innovation in the colleges.