Both total quality management (TQM) and risk management (RM) are concerned with the
realization of strategy. Some authors have recently focused on the potential integration of
quality management and RM, highlighting the need of combining information to improve
decision making. The exploratory study presented in this paper addresses the field of TQM
and RM, to investigate the influence of TQM adoption on risk identification.
Further, drawing also special attention to the effects of the intangible resources, the study
examines the differences between TQM and non-TQM firms about the emphasis placed
on the use of non-financial performance measures.
The empirical investigation is based on a survey of a sample of large Italian firms. Nonparametric
statistical data analysis is employed. The results provide evidence that
significant and positive associations exist between TQM firms and the importance of risk
identification, as well as between TQM firms and the use of non-financial performance
measures.
