In summary, the literature review has identified
several controversies in positing the nature of relationship
between competitive strategy, TQM, and
organization performance. An empirical study
therefore was designed to unravel these confusions
by testing the relationships between the three variables
above. We believe that the implication of
this study is important as it also examines the role
of TQM in the context of strategy–performance
relationship. In guiding the direction of the analysis,
three sets of research hypotheses were developed
based on the findings identified in the
literature review. The first set is concerned with
examining the nature of the relationship between
TQM and each of the organization strategies in
terms of differentiation and cost leadership. As discussed
earlier, the literature appears to support the
relationship between TQM and both differentiation
and cost leadership strategy, and, therefore,
the following two hypotheses are posited