Third generation quality management: the role of stakeholders in integrating business into society

This contribution outlines the development of quality theory through various stages to the point where it now recognises the impact of external groups and individuals on the output of quality products and services. In particular, it articulates how the developments in stakeholder theory have coincided with the development of a theoretical framework for quality management and how stakeholder involvement relates to the output of the organisation. It examines some of the implications of this re‐orientation and aims to describe tomorrow’s emerging stakeholder model of quality. Finally, it argues that the new conceptualisation represents a generational change as it has fundamental ramifications for the nature of organisations and the way they maintain and evaluate quality. The differences between the generations are characterised and examined to demonstrate their potential significance.