Total Quality Management and Innovation: Linkages and Evidence from the Agro-food Industry

Total quality management and innovation are two inherently related concepts that appear to have an important role in the performance of agro-food companies. The main aim of this paper is to review and discuss the theoretical and practical linkages between quality management and innovation, focusing on the agro-food industry, which is characterized as a low-tech sector with high demands for quality standards and food safety systems. The presented review identifies and discusses three conceptual frameworks, and the findings indicate the positive effect of quality on innovation and vice versa, while both factors have a positive impact on firms’ performance. However, other internal and external factors may affect both firm’s quality management and innovation activities. Particularly for the agro-food industry, access to current and new markets is a major motive, objective, and outcome of the quality-innovation nexus, revealing the importance of adopting customer-focused culture.