The fifth era

This research is mainly concerned with the reasons why many organizations remain rooted in the early quality eras and what prevents them from making the transition to the era of strategic quality management. The study examined the characteristics of 13 organizations at various stages of their quality initiatives. Interviews were conducted on a face‐to‐face basis using a semi‐structured questionnaire in order to obtain an in‐depth picture of each organization. The results enabled organizational profiles to be constructed, identifying in particular the key characteristics of those organizations which had successfully integrated their quality initiative into organization strategy. These findings provide useful learning for those organizations wishing to progress their quality initiatives.