PALADINO, Marcelo <br/><br/>
Using a customer-focused approach to improve quality across the value chain :  the case of Siderar 

 - Oxfordshire :  Routledge,  August 2002 
<br/><br/> This study describes the process of value chain quality improvement carried out by a leading steel company in Latin America. The longitudinal study explains how the company develped quality improvement initiatives based on cooperation with customers and suppliers. The importance of the case is due mainly to the original approach taken by the company, on turning its business around through quality improvement initiatives in the external value chain, especially towards direct customers. Data were collected during ninve years, from the 1992 privatisation until early 2001. Data included interviews with managers, observatins, and documents. The case provides empirical support for ideas underlying quality initiatives across the value chain, customer response strategies, and the use of knowledge as a source of competitive advantage