This paper uses a sample of quality award winners to empirically test hypotheses that related change in operating income associated with effective implementation of total quality management (TQM) to various firm characteristics. The characteristics examined are firm size, the degree of capital intensity, the degree of diversification, the timing of TQM implementation, and the maturity of the program. We find that smaller firms do signficantly better than larger firms. Firms that have won awards from independent award (a proxy for more mature TQM implementation) do significantly better than just supplier award winners. The evidence weakly supports the hypotheses that less capital-intensive firms do better than more capital-intensive firms, and more focused firms do better than more diversified firms. Finally, we do not observe any significant differences between the performance of earlier and later implementers of effective TQM.