Factors enhancing quality assurance system and operational performance in secretarial associations in Nigeria

There have been inconsistent findings in the literature concerning the relationships between quality assurance system factors and operational performance.These inconsistencies have resulted in the lack of data for the deployment of appropriate critical success factors for the enhancement of quality assurance systems that can lead to superior operational performance in professional secretarial associations in Nigeria. Hence, this research has prompted further investigation on the effect of environmental dynamism through the lens of Social Identity, and` Resource-Based View theories that may better explain the nature of these links. Evidence from the literature affirms that quality assurance systems factors adoption based on ISO 9000 dimensions by professional associations in Nigeria may or may not enhance operational performance. This study focused on the perception of members of three professional secretarial associations registered in Nigeria, for their opinions on the operational performance dimension adopted in this study. Based on a thorough review of existing literature, four dimensions of quality assurance systems factors (i.e. leadership, customer focus, people involvement, and continuous involvement), and two components of operational performance (i.e. membership satisfaction and service quality) were identified to be the prominent features of the quality assurance system factors and operational performance in secretarial associations in Nigeria that require connectivity. Further, the study examined the moderating role of environmental dynamism on the operational performance in secretarial associations in Nigeria. G-Power software was used to identify a sample of 201 practising members of three secretarial associations in Nigeria. The stratified random sampling technique was used for data collection. The Statistical Package for Social Science and Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Square technique were used to test the theoretical framework. The results revealed that all four QAS factors are instrumental for secretarial associations to increase their OP. Environmental dynamism significantly and positively moderated the effect of the QAS factors on OP. The research creates awareness in secretarial associations to focus on the four QAS factors to attain a superior operational performance. In terms of originality, this research examined the effect of four QAS factors on OP in the three secretarial associations. Specifically, the construct and criterion validity with regards to the QAS dimensions are further confirmed in this thesis. Practically, this research can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the QAS factors on OP in the secretarial associations’ context. Finally, the research suggests that similar studies be conducted in other professional associations in Nigeria. This study contributes to the existing literature on the QAS factors that can be adopted in quality assurance system and OP enhancement, particularly in secretarial associations, and in professional associations in Nigeria in general.