QUALITY MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION AND THEIR IMPACT ON OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF PAKISTAN'S FOOD PROCESSING SMEs

SMEs are well-known as the economic backbone of any country. Similarly, in Pakistan, they play a vital role in socio-economic development and income generation. However, some of Pakistan's Food Processing SMEs are reportedly less involved in the country's exports due to their inability to meet the quality of produce required for global markets. Pakistan's food industry is transforming from a traditional food processing system to higher-value-added products due to the demand from lifestyle - and health-conscious customers. This study aims to identify the critical success factors of quality management and analyze their impact on operational performance amongst food-processing SMEs in Pakistan. Previous studies demonstrated that critical Success Factors provide an effective way of focusing strategic direction, and enable management to focus on critical areas. Toward that end a questionnaire was developed and employed for data collection from respondents selected using a snowball sampling technique. A total of 302 food processing SMEs responded the survey. SPSS- Version 23 and Smart-PLS 3 were used for data analysis. It is believed that this study will help food manufacturers in Pakistan to improve their operational performance and product quality by practicing certain critical factors.