Mid Sweden University

Today, sustainable development and the Global Goals are a major concern for society and organizations. In order to become more sustainable, organizations need to develop their ways of working with Sustainable Quality Development (SQD). Sustainable Quality Management (SQM) and Sustainable Quality Culture (SQC) are important aspects for organizations in striving to become more sustainable and to create social, societal and environmental values. A Top Management Team (TMT) is a key resource for an organization’s sustainability and previous research show that characteristics of TMT manifest an organization’s strategic choices, outcomes and performance. TMT characteristic might therefore be one success factor in attaining performance. Studying success factors on how TMTs manage organizations towards SQD, and SQC can therefore be of great importance. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to explore research on how TMTs manage organizations towards SQD, focusing on success factors. Inclusion criteria for the review were; original research studies (peer-reviewed studies) describing characteristics and success factors for TMTs managing organizations towards SQD; literature published in English; and published between January 2010 and August 2021. Databases used for the searches were; Scopus, Web of Science and Business Source. Databases were searched on 15th of September 2021. A Content analysis inspired by affinity diagram was conducted in order to identify clusters of data representing success factors described in the 29 included articles. The thematic content analysis and clustering process ended up in five main categories of success factors. These main categories were; External factors, Leadership and management, Vision and goals, Individual and team characteristics and abilities, and Stability and dynamics. Some general insights from the conducted scoping review were, first that the included articles were mostly from Asia and from China. This indicates that further research is needed in other geographical continents and countries, in order to give a broader perspective on the specific topic. Secondly, the methodological approach in the reviewed articles was mostly quantitative which leads to a need for more qualitative approaches to get broader understanding of the area. Thirdly, that the meaning of SQD needs to be further elaborated since the TMT and the quality of its strategic decisions on sustainability are critical in achieving sustainable development. A conceptual discussion on SQD, SQM and SQC from a Quality Management lens can be implications for further research.