TQM, Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen in higher education management: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose In response to the changing environment and competition external pressures, Higher Education Institutions have adopted management practices oriented towards increasing productivity, efficiency, and quality. Some initiatives have been conducted towards quality assurance and accreditation of management systems, and others incorporate philosophies and tools based on Total Quality Management (TQM), Lean, Six Sigma, or Kaizen approaches. The implementation of such approaches in Higher Education has drawn scholars’ attention since the 1990s. The purpose of this article is to conduct a bibliometric analysis exploring the literature related to the application of TQM, Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen in Higher Education Institutions, providing guidance for researchers and practitioners in the field. Design/methodology/approach The methodology has been designed following a five-step approach, known as a bibliometric workflow, which involves research design, compilation of data, analysis, visualization, and interpretation. The search was conducted in the Scopus database and includes relevant articles published up to and including the year 2024. Findings Findings identify the most relevant sources, articles, keywords, and authors in literature, and their evolution and dynamics over the years. A growing interest in the subject has been detected mainly in Quality and Lean-related journals, as well as an opportunity or gap between intensifying the research in higher education-related journals in order to increase the quality of education and reduce the adverse effects of new management practices as perceived by academics. In addition, the findings point to an unexplored line of research combining AI with quality approaches in HEIs, and highlight the potential of linking sustainability (both social and environmental aspects) with TQM, Lean, or Lean Six Sigma to embed it more deeply into institutional management. Originality/value This paper is the first research article offering a bibliometric perspective of the existing literature about the implementation of TQM, Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen in Higher Education Institutions, providing guidance for researchers and practitioners in the field.