Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study soft total quality management (TQM) practices and their impact on firm performance (FP). Design/methodology/approach – In the present paper, the author has used systematic literature review proposed by Tranfield et al. (2003). After identifying the research gaps, the author has formulated research hypotheses and developed a structured questionnaire to collect data from cement manufacturing firms to test the research hypotheses. In this study the author has used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to explore latent constructs of soft TQM. The EFA output was further used as an input to multiple linear regression analysis to study their relationship with FP. Findings – The regression analysis indicates that relationship with internal and external partners, quality culture, human resource focus, visionary leadership, are positive and statistically significant determinants of FP. Originality/value – In this study the author has selected Indian cement industry which is world’s second largest cement producer and an important sector in terms of its contribution to Indian GDP, and provides direct and indirect employment opportunities to millions of people. However, most of the studies in India were done related to automotive sector and soft TQM was never considered important. The findings of the study contribute to resource-based theory.