Quality assurance as a managerial innovation: a research perspective.

Quality assurance is defined and concepts from innovation theory are applied to the study of quality assurance programs. Two distinct although not mutually exclusive perspectives on innovation are considered--the diffusion perspective, focusing on the innovation itself and its implementation, and the adoption perspective, highlighting factors characteristic of the adoption unit (i.e., the organization or individuals within it) that facilitate or impede the adoption process. Directions for future research are suggested.