Hindawi Publishing Corporation Advances in Decision Sciences Volume 2011, Article ID 694080, 27 pages doi:10.1155/2011/694080 Research Article Modelling the Implications of Quality Management Elements on Strategic Flexibility Ana Bel ´ en Escrig-Tena, Juan Carlos Bou-Llusar, Inmaculada Beltr ´ an-Mart´ ın, and Vicente Roca-Puig Departamento de Administraci´ on de Empresas y Marketing, Universitat Jaume I, Campus del Riu Sec, 12071 Castell´ on, Spain Correspondence should be addressed to Ana Bel´ en Escrig-Tena, escrigt@emp.uji.es Received 10 August 2011; Accepted 12 December 2011 Academic Editor: David Bulger Copyright q 2011 Ana Bel´ en Escrig-Tena et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the implications of a quality manage- ment QM initiative on strategic flexibility. Our study defines flexibility from a strategic approach and examines the extent to which, why, and how the triggering factors of strategic flexibility are related to QM elements. The hypotheses put forward are tested in an empirical study carried out on a sample of Spanish firms, using structural equation models. The results demonstrate the positive effect of adopting an integral QM initiative on enhancing strategic flexibility. QM enhances strategic flexibility more effectively when it is introduced comprehensively rather than in a piece- meal fashion. A series of practices linked to the application of a QM initiative are outlined, which managers can use to improve strategic flexibility. The approach used in the study can be applied to analyse other antecedents of flexibility and to propose possible studies that consider QM as an antecedent of other organisational variables. 1. Introduction Over the last few decades, quality management QM models have been adopted to improve performance and achieve sustainable excellence. Although QM is a recognised means of pursuing higher performance and facilitating the realisation of excellent results, the literature has discussed whether QM fosters change and flexibility or whether, on the contrary, it hin- ders the firm’s interest in new developments since it aspires to stability and reliability 1–3. Consequently, after a long period in which QM has evolved considerably, it is now necessary to determine whether the practices and actions imposed by these initiatives provide effective means to respond with the flexibility necessary in the new competitive conditions. Strategic flexibility is particularly important in the new competitive environment 4– 10 since it involves the firm’s abilities to respond to problems speedily, rethink its activities