Barriers Retarding Zambian Manufacturing Companies from Applying Quality Management

Abstract

The Zambian manufacturing sector faces significant challenges in achieving global competitiveness, primarily due to the critically low adoption of formal Quality Management Systems (QMS). With less than 3% of registered manufacturing companies certified at the time of data collection, this study identifies and ranks the critical barriers hindering implementation. Adopting an integrated theoretical lens combining the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Institutional Theory, the research posits that adoption failure stems from a lack of coercive and normative external pressures coupled with critical deficiencies in internal, firm-specific resources and capabilities. Using a robust mixed-methods approach involving a survey of 94 manufacturing managers and 18 semi-structured interviews, the study empirically ranks Organisational barriers (high cost and lack of skilled personnel) as the most binding constraints. The analysis categorizes these barriers into gaps in Tangible (financial, technical), Intangible (top management commitment, knowledge), and Human Resources (skills, culture). Integrating rich qualitative insights substantiates these rankings and adds contextual depth. Understanding these barriers as resource and institutional gaps provides a structured basis for policymakers and managers to develop targeted strategies to build the necessary VRIO (Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Organised) capabilities for sustained quality excellence.