Too Much of a Good Thing? Quality as an Impediment to Innovation

• Published in: California management review Vol. 50; no. 1; pp. 77 - 93
• Main Authors: Cole, Robert E., Matsumiya, Tsuyoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA University of California Walter A. Haas School of Business 01.10.2007; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Business innovation; Business studies; Competitiveness; Correlation analysis; Disruptive innovation; Electronics industry; High tech industries; High technology; High technology industries; Innovation; Innovation diffusion; Innovations; Internet; Japan; Japanese culture; New products; Product innovation; Product management; Product quality; Quality standards; Random access memory; Research and development; Technological innovation; Technology; U.S.A; User needs; Japan
• ISSN: 0008-1256; 2162-8564
• DOI: 10.2307/41166417

The belief that there is a positive link between quality and innovation is widely shared among quality professionals. Yet the experience of Japanese manufacturing firms, who are well known for their high standards of quality performance, casts doubt upon this relationship. In fact, the inability of some Japanese high-technology firms to introduce radical and disruptive new technologies is in part due to the emphasis they have placed on product quality. By delaying the introduction of new technologies until their quality could be assured, they lost out to American firms who were willing to introduce new products and service features that met the needs of consumers, even though they were not free from deficiencies, such as Apple's iPod. Using three major case studies from the Japanese hightech sector, this article analyzes what kinds of innovation might be undermined by a focus on quality and explores its managerial implications.