From validation to execution: Exploring the practical implementation of the conjoint framework of Quality Management and High-Performance Work Systems

Quality Management System (QMS) and High-Performance Work System (HPWS) have transpired as leading improvement initiatives and management paradigms in pursuit of sustainable organizational effectiveness. Various organizations all over the globe have applied these practices using different combinations and blends. However, in a Conjoint Implementation scenario, an explicit understanding of the nature of the inter-relationship of these two improvement programs still lacks, and serious ambiguities exist about whether QMS and HPWS practices are mutually supportive, mutually exclusive, or one is antecedent to the other. Most of the integrated frameworks of QMS and HPWS available in the literature are either theoretical or anecdotal, where QMS is operationalized as a single/multi-dimensional construct, and HPWS is considered a set of individual HR practices without incorporating the configurational perspective of HR bundles/configuration. The particular evolution of these two complementary streams of exploration has recently been combined and reconciled by Rehmani et al. (2020a) [1] in an Integrated Framework for the conjoint implementation of QMS and HPWS in Engineering Organizations of Pakistan. Despite being statistically validated, the framework lacks a practical validation method, just like most other frameworks in the literature. The current study is the first of its kind, presenting a step-by-step practical validation procedure with a strategic roadmap for implementing hybrid frameworks of QMS and HPWS. This research aims to develop a standard validation process for all practitioners dealing with QMS and HPWS implementation issues in Engineering organizations in particular and others in general.