The Perceived Effect of Total Quality Management Attributes on Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Management Performance at Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service (EPSS

Abstract

Background: The effect of total quality management on the performance of pharmaceutical supply chain management in Ethiopia has not been extensively studied. However, it is essential to bridge this research gap as TQM plays a vital role in enhancing PSCM performance. The pharmaceutical sector in Ethiopia encounters various challenges, including uncertainties, frequent interruptions, and disruptions, which further complicate supply chain management. To address these, it becomes crucial to prioritize total quality management attributes to advance pharmaceutical supply chain management performance. Objective: To determine the Perceived effect of TQM attributes on pharmaceutical Supply chain management performance at Ethiopian pharmaceutical Supply Service. Method: Between Septembers to October 2022, a facility based cross-sectional study complemented with a qualitative method was conducted. Quantitative data were collected with self-administered five-point Likert-scale questions through a Census survey method. The data were analyzed using SPSS®-version 26 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS version 23). Descriptive statistics were utilized to compute frequencies and percentages. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess the reliability and validity of the constructs, while structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for hypotheses testing. Qualitative data were gathered through face-to-face interviews conducted with 16 key informants, and thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data Result: out of 290 distributed questionnaires, 271(93.45%) responses were received. In this study, TQM attributes had strong relationship with PSCM performance as demonstrated by the high standardized estimation (β =0.769). It was recognized that the enactment of TQM attributes could led to advanced PSCM performance. Of all, information sharing and employee empowerment and training were identified as the most dominant practice which explains PSCM performance. Information sharing had the highest predictive power (β=0.430) followed by employee empowerment and training with the largest beta coefficient (β=0.421) at p< 0.001. Over all, all proposed TQM attributes had significantly explained about 76.9% of variation in PSCM performance. Study findings were also supported by the qualitative study findings .All proposed hypothesis were supported and accepted. Conclusion: All the suggested attributes were found to have a significant and positive effect on PSCM performance. Among these, it is crucial for EPSS to focus on information sharing, employee involvement and training. Implementing an advanced information sharing system that encompasses suppliers and end- users can greatly enhance overall performance. These findings have important policy implications for EPSS, as they can guide the development of strategies and identify areas in need of improvement