QM and innovation in the Greek agri-food sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which three enablers of the EFQM Excellence Model, as a single factor, are associated with innovation performance in the Greek agri-food sector (focusing on the North Aegean region). Moreover, it offers insights into the nature of quality management and innovation activities of the responded companies.
Design/methodology/approach – The analysis followed in order to investigate the relations among the various constructs of the proposed model, includes an initial exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and finally structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings – According to the study findings, the three EFQM model enablers directly
contribute positive and significant to innovation performance of the Greek agri-food
companies. The level of innovation performance of these firms is medium.
Research limitations/implications –The sample of the responding agri-food companies is limited to small and medium-sized agri-food firms from one country (Greece). Moreover, this study focused mainly to one region (North Aegean) of Greece. In addition, firms from different sectors have different resources, capabilities and performance.
Practical implications – The study offers clear implications for agri-food firms managers who should put additional emphasis on QM and the four dimensions of innovation in order to achieve improved overall firm performance.
Originality/value – Based on the multi-dimensional structure of quality, this empirical study determines the contribution of QM to specific innovation performance dimensions of the regional agri-food companies.

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Quality management, EFQM model enablers, innovation performance