An exploration of the organisational excellence architecture required to support an award-winning business excellence journey : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract

The Business Excellence (BE) approach and its underlying philosophy are now established means of enhancing organisations’ performance. BE is institutionalised through BE models to achieve excellence in strategies; business practices; and, stakeholder-related performance results. In turn, these activities contribute to the organisation becoming best in their respective market. While numerous studies have examined different aspects of BE, there remains a lack of research on the actual BE implementation required to guide researchers, consultants and practitioners. The absence of a unified framework has led to inconsistent practices across organisations, of which some has resulted in results less than expected. To bridge this gap, this research introduces the novel concept of Organisational Excellence Architecture (OEA). OEA refers to the formal support structure, resources, processes and assessment tools used to assist the implementation of BE within an organisation. This research explores the OEA supporting award-winning BE maturity.

A sequential mixed methods approach was adopted that resulted in participation from 50 organisations across 17 countries. Contributions were acquired by way of an online survey, followed by optional structured interviews to identify BE their implementation approaches and best practices. The empirical data guided the iterative development of the OEA model established from the literature and the subsequent refinement of the final OEA model. This model is supported with an OEA design toolkit. The toolkit includes OEA design tool guidelines; an OEA design assessment tool; best practices examples; and, four research articles.

This study makes a contribution to the BE literature, providing detailed, updated research on BE implementation approaches and best practices. It offers practical insights for BE practitioners and organisations, enhancing the understanding of effective BE implementation strategies. Future research is now invited to validate and refine the OEA model and the OEA design toolkit to improve their applicability and effectiveness across diverse organisational contexts.