Abstract
The purpose of the study is to explore existing literature on quality management tools applicable in higher education and identify major critical factors of TQM adapted from the business sector. A major part of the research focuses on an exploratory literature review of the most well-known existing business quality management tools applicable to higher education. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory literature review was conducted using a well-known, highly respected database “Web of Science Core Collection”. Findings – The presented study offers a deep literature analysis of effective practices for implementing quality management tools in higher education. The practical value of the paper is university administrators and quality managers can apply it as guidelines in selecting the best cases of quality techniques applicable in their organizations for strategic development, university performance and quality improvement. The originality of the paper - is it can serve as a theoretical guideline for regional academics, scholars and university managers and administrators to define an appropriate quality management tool to meet requirements of external stakeholders (employers).