How firms achieve Quality 4.0 implementation performance: a configurational analysis of Chinese manufacturing

Purpose This study aims to identify pathways to Quality 4.0 (Q4.0) implementation performance across digital contexts from a configurational perspective, addressing underexplored context dependence in Q4.0 outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from manufacturing firms in Jiangsu Province, China. Necessary condition analysis (NCA) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were combined to identify necessary conditions and sufficient configurations for high and non-high Q4.0 implementation performance. Firm size was incorporated to compare configurational patterns between small firms and medium- and large-sized firms. Findings First, Q4.0 implementation is context-dependent, with digital maturity serving as a boundary condition. Second, multiple equifinal configurations lead to high performance. Small firms exhibit greater configurational diversity through three distinct combinations of organisational resources, digital-quality capabilities and process digitalisation, whereas medium and large firms converge on one synergistic configuration. Third, non-high performance is consistently associated with the absence of organisational resources, highlighting a key source of transformation traps. Originality/value This study advances Q4.0 and quality management research by identifying equifinal pathways to implementation performance. It demonstrates conjunctural causation and causal asymmetry between high and non-high performance configurations, moving beyond net-effect explanations. It further provides context-specific guidance aligned with firms' digital maturity and size.