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The difference in the perceived benefits between firms that maintain ISO certification and those that do not
International Journal of Production Research
Abstract
Although nearly two decades have elapsed since the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced the ISO 9000 series standards in March 1987, there have been few attempts to explore the reasons why certified firms may fail to maintain ISO certification. In this paper, survey data from certified firms in Taiwan are used to examine the differences between firms that maintain certification and those that do not in terms of the benefits that firms felt they had obtained from certification. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) is used in order simultaneously to assess group differences across the 16 multiple dependent organizational benefit variables, covaried for company size and certification motives. Our findings show that those certified firms that maintain certification gain more benefits from the standards than those that do not. This study also demonstrates that firms’ motives for obtaining certification have an impact on the strength of the relationship between the maintenance of certification and the benefits gained. However, company size does not appear to affect the strength of the relationship.
... Other authors have used this classification in their research (e.g. Escanciano, 1998;Yahya and Goh, 2001;Poksinska et al., 2002;Escanciano et al., 2003;Chang and Lo, 2005;Rodríguez-Escobar et al., 2006;Singh and Sareen, 2006;Lo and Chang, 2007;Zaramdini, 2007;Cagnazzo et al., 2009;Karipidis et al., 2009;Cagnazzo et al., 2010;Tarí et al., 2012;Simon et al., 2013;Kammoun et al., 2013;Karim, 2013;Abad et al., 2014;Bernardo et al., 2014;Martin-Peña et al., 2014;Santos et al., 2014). ...
... and Chang (2007);White et al. (2009);Kammoun and Aouni (2013) Brown et al. (1998);Huarng (1998);Lee et al. (1999);Ragothaman and Korte (1999);Abraham et al. (2000);Escanciano et al. (2001);Singels et al. (2001); 1997);Terziovski et al. (1997); Brown et al. (1998);Escanciano (1998);Krasachol et al. (1998);Lee (1998);Lee et al. (1999);Leung et al. (1999);Nield and Kozak (1999);Tang and Kam (1999); MartínezFuentes et al. (2000);Beskese and Cebeci (2001); Dissanayaka et al. (2001); Poksinska et al. (2002); Santos and Improved image Escanciano (2002); Chow-Chua et al. (2003); Magd and Curry (2003); Pan (2003); Terziovski et al. (2003); Zeng, Tian, Tam (2005); Piskar and Dolinsek (2006); Rodríguez-Escobar et al. (2006); Singh and Sareen (2006); Singh et al. (2006); Calisir (2007); Lo and Chang (2007); Zaramdini (2007); Feng et al. (2008); Magd (2008); Karipidis et al. ); Oliver and Qu (1999); Ragothaman and Korte (1999); Tang and Kam (1999); Abraham et al. (2000); Casadesús and Giménez (2000); Martínez Fuentes et al. (2000); Sun (2000); Beskese and Cebeci (2001); Casdesús et al. (2001); Dissanayaka et al. (2001); Escanciano et al. (2001); Singels et al. (2001); Tan and Sia (2001); van der Wiele et al. (2001); Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002); Poksinska et al. (2002); Santos and Escanciano (2002); Chow-Chua et al. (2003); Domingues (2003); Escanciano et al. (2003); Magd and Curry (2003); Magd et al. (2003); Pan (2003); Terziovski et al. (2003); Arauz and Suzuki (2004); Naveh and Marcus (2004); Quazi and Jacobs (2004); Ruzevicius et al. (2004); Williams (2004); Bhuiyan and Alam (2005); Casadesús and Karapetrovic (2005); Zeng, Tian, Tam (2005); Magd (2006); Piskar and Dolinsek (2006); Rodríguez-Escobar et al. (2006); Singh et al. (2006); Bayati and Taghavi (2007); Han et al. (2007); Lo and Chang (2007); Zaramdini (2007); Branco (2008); Jang and Lin (2008); Magd (2008); Martínez-Costa et al. (2008); Singh (2008); Sampaio et al. (2009); White et al. (2009); Ali and Rahmat (2010); Cagnazzo et al. (2010); Gotzamani (2010); Gutiérrez et al. (2010); Kammoun and Aouni (2013). Relations with customers Lundmark and Westelius (2006); Zeng and Tian(2007)Aouni(2013)Lee (1998);Lee et al. (1999);Ragothaman and Korte (1999);Dissanayaka et al. (2001);Escanciano et al. (2001);Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002)al. ...
... Relations with customers Lundmark and Westelius (2006); Zeng and Tian(2007)Aouni(2013)Lee (1998);Lee et al. (1999);Ragothaman and Korte (1999);Dissanayaka et al. (2001);Escanciano et al. (2001);Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002)al. (1995);Askey and Malcolm (1997);Huarng (1998);Leung et al. (1999);Nield and Kozak (1999);Abraham et al. (2000); MartínezFuentes et al. (2000);Sun (2000);Dissanayaka et al. (2001);Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002);Chow-Chua et al. (2003);Quazi and Jacobs (2004);Williams (2004);Rodríguez-Escobar et al. (2006);;Lo and Chang (2007);Zaramdini (2007);Feng et al. (2008).Escanciano (1998);Poksinska et al. (2002);Piskar and Dolinsek (2006);Singh and Sareen (2006);Zaramdini (2007);Karipidis et al. (2009).Singh and Sareen (2006) students ...
Resumo: Este artigo identifica o estado da arte no que respeita às motivações, benefícios e dificuldades na implementação e certificação dos sistemas de gestão da qualidade (SGQ) nas organizações. A revisão da literatura sugere que, em relação às motivações internas ou externas, algumas podem ser mais ou menos intensas do que outras, dependendo do tipo de organização e do seu contexto operacional. Como regra geral, a literatura aponta para um melhor desempenho das organizações que operam SGQ de acordo com a ISO 9001, embora alguns estudos tenham demonstrado que a correlação entre a certificação e o desempenho da organização é apenas marginal, ou não existe mesmo. Por outro lado, as maiores dificuldades na implementação e certificação do SGQ recaem na burocracia, no fraco compromisso com a qualidade, no custo e no tempo. Dadas as conclusões divergentes, contraditórias e não consensuais, retiradas desta revisão, bem como de outras similares, levantamos questões metodológicas sobre a investigação destes tópicos, e recomendamos outras dimensões de análise, no sentido de colmatar as dificiências encontradas. Palavras-chave: Sistema de gestão da Qualidade, Motivações, Benefícios, dificuldades. Abstract: This paper is focused on the state of the art in regards to the motivations, benefits and difficulties of implementation and certification of quality management systems (QMS) in organizations. The literature review suggests that, in regard to internal or external motives, some may be more or less intense than others, depending on the type of organization and its operating context. As a general rule literature points out to a better performance of organizations that have a QMS according to ISO 9001, although some studies have shown that correlation between the QMS certification and performance is only marginal, or does not exist. On the other hand, the greatest difficulties in implementation and certification of QMS are felt in the bureaucracy, weak commitment to quality, cost and time spent. Finally, we raise methodological questions about research on these topics, and other dimensions of analysis are recommended.
... Recent research points also to a decrease in the number of certified organisations (Marimon et al., 2009;Mastrogiacomo et al., 2021). This certification loss is due to several reasons, which include cost of the certification, time invested in the certification process, and erosion of customers' interest in certification (Lo and Chang, 2007;Chiarini, 2019). ...
... However, the consequences of certification maintenance, recertification and decertification are still unclear. Current research on the period after certification focus essentially on how firms maintain the ISO 9001 certification (e.g., Water, 2000;Lo and Chang, 2007;Wahid and Corner, 2009;Castka, 2018), why firms decertify from ISO 9001 (e.g., Alič, 2014;Simon and Kafel, 2018;Chiarini, 2019), and what is the impact of ISO 9001 recertification (e.g., Nurcahyo et al., 2020). This literature, addressing what happens in the post-certification period, is still scarce and, therefore, has several research gaps to explore. ...
... Adequate QMS maintenance is important because it helps to keep the quality initiative alive in the organization, prevents the stagnation of the quality management system, and allows the continuity of the benefits from the ISO 9001 certification (Lo and Chang, 2007). ...
Previous research on ISO 9001 certification maintenance, decertification and recertification is fragmented and lacks an integrated theoretical framework. Thus, the aims of this study are to provide an overview of current research, develop an integrated framework and identify research gaps. The research methodology consists of a systematic literature review (SLR) which starts with the definition of a research protocol, proceeds with searches in Web of Science and Scopus, and selects a final sample of 32 articles for analysis. Results show that the research interest in certification maintenance, decertification and recertification is growing, but is still scarce. Extant research focuses on certification maintenance factors, benefits and frameworks; decertification reasons and consequences, and recertification impact on efficiency. There is a lack of consensus on these topics, but the data extracted from the literature is used to develop a theoretical framework of what companies do in the post-certification period. The framework identifies the main variables involved in certification maintenance, decertification and recertification, and establishes the main relationships between them. This is the first SLR conducted on these topics, which provides the first integrated framework of the research phenomena, a comprehensive list of research gaps to guide future studies, and relevant management recommendations.
... Our focus resides on the propensity for innovative organizations to abandon quality-management standards, thus it is instructive to consider the primary motivations and rationales for withdrawal that have been set out in the decertification literature. The most common framework employed to consider the decision to withdraw from qualitymanagement certification involves a cost-benefit analysis where the evident costs of recertification potentially outweigh constrained benefits (e.g., Lo and Chang, 2007;Alcala et al., 2013;Simon and Kafel, 2018;Zimon and Dellana, 2020). Alcala et al. (2013: 232) support this approach when stating that "obviously, the reason why organizations decide not to renew the certification is because the costs associated with keeping outweigh the benefits". ...
... While the exact costs involved with recertification are difficult to quantify, recertifying and retaining a quality standard represents a non-trivial task for organizations that ultimately requires a sizeable amount of capital and labor (e.g., Blind, 2004;Potoski and Prakash, 2005;Delmas and Montiel, 2009). It is no surprise then that the cost of recertification is cited as the most common rationale behind the decision to withdraw from a quality-management standard (e.g., Lo and Chang, 2007;Kafel and Nowicki, 2014;Kafel and Simon, 2017;Zimon and Dellana, 2020). In fact, Alič (2014) finds that decertifying organizations are more likely to experience insolvency in subsequent years, thus suggesting that decertification is a harbinger of fundamental business issues. ...
... The sparse literature considering the determinants of qualitystandard decertification (e.g., Lo and Chang, 2007;Alcala et al., 2013;Simon and Kafel, 2018;Cândido et al., 2016Zimon and Dellana, 2020) has been heavily influenced by a cost-benefit approach: where time and financial costs, lack of internal benefits, and lack of external benefits represent the primary rationales explaining decertification. Yet that literature on decertification drivers has neglected the relevance of organizational characteristics-a neglect that is shared by the literature on quality-standard adoption according to Castka and Corbett (2015). ...
The literature on quality-management standards has generally focused on the drivers, motivations, and performance effects of adopting such standards. Yet the last decade has witnessed a substantial degree of decertification behavior, as organizations have increasingly decided to voluntarily withdraw from quality-management standards by not recertifying. While the drivers of the decision to initially adopt quality-management standards have been extensively studied, the drivers of the decision to decertify have received scant scholarly attention. We argue that innovative organizations are generally prone to retaining quality-management certification and thus exhibit a tendency to not abandon certification; however, radically-innovative organizations are more prone than incrementally-innovative organizations to discontinue quality-management standards and thereby exhibit a tendency to withdraw from quality certification. We compile World Bank data surveying facilities based in 50 countries and 103 industrial sectors across the 2003 to 2017 period. Taking advantage of the data's panel properties yields a dataset composed of up to 1755 facility-level observations of recertification decisions for empirical analysis. Our empirical testing employs a probit estimation technique that accounts for the appropriate fixed effects and generates results that support our theoretical priors regarding decertification behavior.
... Our focus resides on the propensity for innovative organizations to abandon quality-management standards, thus it is instructive to consider the primary motivations and rationales for withdrawal that have been set out in the decertification literature. The most common framework employed to consider the decision to withdraw from qualitymanagement certification involves a cost-benefit analysis where the evident costs of recertification potentially outweigh constrained benefits (e.g., Lo and Chang, 2007;Alcala et al., 2013;Simon and Kafel, 2018;Zimon and Dellana, 2020). Alcala et al. (2013: 232) support this approach when stating that "obviously, the reason why organizations decide not to renew the certification is because the costs associated with keeping outweigh the benefits". ...
... While the exact costs involved with recertification are difficult to quantify, recertifying and retaining a quality standard represents a non-trivial task for organizations that ultimately requires a sizeable amount of capital and labor (e.g., Blind, 2004;Potoski and Prakash, 2005;Delmas and Montiel, 2009). It is no surprise then that the cost of recertification is cited as the most common rationale behind the decision to withdraw from a quality-management standard (e.g., Lo and Chang, 2007;Kafel and Nowicki, 2014;Kafel and Simon, 2017;Zimon and Dellana, 2020). In fact, Alič (2014) finds that decertifying organizations are more likely to experience insolvency in subsequent years, thus suggesting that decertification is a harbinger of fundamental business issues. ...
... The sparse literature considering the determinants of qualitystandard decertification (e.g., Lo and Chang, 2007;Alcala et al., 2013;Simon and Kafel, 2018;Cândido et al., 2016Zimon and Dellana, 2020) has been heavily influenced by a cost-benefit approach: where time and financial costs, lack of internal benefits, and lack of external benefits represent the primary rationales explaining decertification. Yet that literature on decertification drivers has neglected the relevance of organizational characteristics-a neglect that is shared by the literature on quality-standard adoption according to Castka and Corbett (2015). ...
... Regarding the motivations for decertification, there is no consensus. Lo and Chang (2007) and Kafel and Nowicki (2014) identify, as the primary reason, the cost of (re)certification. Alič (2014) emphasise the undesired effects of inadequate ISO 9001 implementation. ...
... In fact, there is evidence of significant contingency effects from contextual variables on certification results (e.g., Lo et al., 2013;Huo et al., 2014;Psomas and Antony, 2015;Siougle et al., 2019). Contingency factors that can have a significant impact are certification motivations (Prajogo, 2011;Huo et al., 2014;Yaya et al., 2014;Heras-Saizarbitoria et al., 2015, Djofack andCamacho, 2017;Sfakianaki and Kakouris, 2020), internalization degree of the standard (Allur et al., 2014), firm internal attributes (Sroufe and Curkovic, 2008;Psomas and Antony, 2015;Su et al., 2015), external contextual variables (Lo and Chang, 2007;Prajogo, 2011;Lo et al., 2013;Tinoco et al., 2017;Castka, 2018), and certification barriers faced during certification (Boiral and Roy, 2007). ...
... A similar argument can be made for internal decertification motivations. Internal motivations include, for instance, the costs of the resources required for certificate renewal (Lo and Chang, 2007;Kafel and Nowicki, 2014), internalisation of the standard in the company processes, which no longer requires formal certification (Cândido et al., 2016, realisation that certification is not a rare, inimitable and non-substitutable resource , firm competitiveness not dependent on certification (Simon and Kafel, 2018), and difficulties with maintaining continuous improvement. In case the organisation decertifies for any of these reasons, it can save in the internal and external costs of certification, thus raising performance after decertification. ...
ISO 9001 certification impact on firm performance has been extensively researched. However, despite the high number of firms withdrawing from this certification, the impact of decertification has not received much research attention. This study contributes to filling this gap by analysing the factors that influence the expected performance after decertification (EPAD). The study reviews relevant literature and develops a structural equation model (PLS-SEM) with data from 231 certified organizations. Results reveal that the main factors influencing EPAD are external decertification motivations and internal certification benefits. Internal benefits have a U-shaped relationship with EPAD and external decertification motivations a positive linear relationship. Results show also a negative direct impact of external benefits on EPAD, which is counterbalanced and cancelled by a positive indirect impact from the same variable. Certification barriers and internal decertification motivations have no significant effect. This study is the first to identify and analyse the factors affecting EPAD and, as such, the study findings constitute innovative contributions to the literature. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for (1) the estimation of EPAD, (2) the decision to renew (or not) the certificate, and (3) further suggest that EPAD is a better predictor of decertification than past certification benefits.
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... In fact, a search on online scientific databases shows that there are less than ten studies on ISO 9001 withdrawal (Table 1). These studies are based on different research methodologies, different countries, and sampling methods and, not surprisingly, arrive at contradictory results; but seem to agree on the dearth of research on ISO 9001 withdrawal (Lo and Chang, 2007;Alič, 2014;Cândido et al., 2016Cândido et al., , 2021. ...
... However, the massification of the standard (Marimon et al., 2009;Dowlatshahi, 2009;Alič, 2014;Sampaio et al., 2014) seems to have led to a downturn in the certification attractiveness (Lo et al., 2013;Sampaio et al., 2014;Djofack and Camacho, 2017). Many companies have abandoned the certificate (Chiarini, 2019) after this massification resulted in a reduction of the competitive advantage that the standard offered , or after garnering the benefits of internalising the standard into the company processes (Cândido et al., 2016) or, in general, after observing that the certification costs surpassed its benefits (Lo and Chang, 2007;Djofack and Camacho, 2017;Chiarini, 2019;Chiarini and Brunetti, 2019;Cândido et al., 2021). These and other motivations for decertification have been researched recently, but rarely. ...
... Regarding the reasons for certification withdrawal (which are more relevant for this research), there is no consensus among the scarce literature. Lo and Chang (2007) and Kafel and Nowicki (2014) suggest that the main reason is the time spent with the certification renewal and its cost; Alič (2014), the undesired effects of inadequate implementation of the standard; Sansalvador and Brotons (2015), the certification results below expectations; Cândido et al. (2016), the full internalisation of the certification benefits in the company processes; Simon and Kafel (2018), the financial distress of the company, and Chiarini (2019), the lack of clients' interest in the certification. Six studies claim that lack of benefits is one of the possible motivations (Table 1), however Cândido et al. (2021) have addressed this claim in their empirical study and concluded that underperformance is not a reason for decertification. ...
Thousands of companies worldwide lose their ISO 9001 certification every year. Considering the relevance that this decertification phenomenon has achieved, this study examines the internal motivations for decertification and explores the relationships between motivations and firm’s previous certification barriers and benefits. To achieve this purpose, the study develops a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) from the literature and estimates the model based on data collected from a sample of 248 certified organizations. Results reveal that the main antecedents of internal decertification motivations are external factors, namely external decertification motivations and external certification barriers. External barriers do not disappear after certification and have a stronger influence on motivations than (lack of) certification benefits. Internal and external benefits have a small effect on motivations, and internal barriers have no significant effect. In addition, the relationship between external barriers and internal decertification motivations is mediated by external motivations. Similarly, the relation between external benefits and internal motivations is mediated by internal benefits. Currently, there are no other studies on the relationship between internal and external decertification motivations, nor studies identifying the antecedents of both motivations. Thus, the research findings constitute novel contributions to the literature and suggest relevant implications for practice.
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... The empirical evidence on the specific reasons justifying the increasing number of withdrawals is, however, scant. In particular, only four academic articles, searchable in research databases, look into somewhat related issues (Lo & Chang, 2007;Alič, 2014;Sansalvador & Brotons, 2015;Cândido, Coelho & Peixinho, 2016). These studies point to the fact that decertification occurs when firms do not experience a certain economic benefit upon their ISO 9001 certification. ...
... In fact, no study has yet investigated how ISO 9001 certification affects performance contingent on whether firms decide to renew their certification status. To this point, recent research by Alič (2014) stresses that we still do not know 'why organizations choose to give up certification', an idea also raised in the earlier paper by Lo & Chang (2007). ...
... (2015) 1. Results bellow what was expected from certification 2. Savings that abandonment would generate Cândido et al.'s (2016) 1. Company has already internalized the benefits of certification 2. Renewal costs are higher than the benefits 3. Belief that the certification body will not renew the certificate Kafel & Nowicki (2014), Simon & Kafel (2018) 1. Financial problems within the organization combined with recertification cost 2. Improvement in processes occur in the beginning of the certification period 3. Option for other more demanding standards 4. Customers no longer demand ISO 9001 certification 5. Other Lo & Chang (2007) study the reasons why certified firms may fail to maintain ISO certification, suggesting that 'the expenditure of time and cost required to maintain ISO 9000 certification would discourage those companies that did not see significant benefits from continuing to maintain certification'. They look at this issue with the help of 171 Taiwanese firms (eleven of which lost their certification) and by performing a multivariate analysis of covariance based on sixteen different types of variables that capture the perception of firm performance. ...
More than one million certified companies must choose, every three years, whether to renew or to withdraw from ISO 9001 certification. This paper investigates whether ISO 9001 decertification decision is driven by economic motivations. Using standard event-study methods, the paper looks into this question by comparing the abnormal performance of a sample of Portuguese firms that lose their certification with that of similar, non-event, firms. The paper finds no statistically significant differences in the economic performance of these two sets of firms in their post-ISO certification period. Such evidence suggests that economic underperformance is not the reason why companies are ISO decertifying and further suggests that the decision to decertify is economically irrelevant. The study advances possible explanations for this (ir)relevancy and puts forwards implications for theory and for the ISO 9001 governance system. The governance system must change in order to increase the economic benefits that organisations can expect to gain from ISO (re)certification. This is the first study assessing the impact of ISO 9001 certification on firms that subsequently lost the certificate.
... Because the goal of our study is to examine the likelihood of organizations achieving global certification in an environment in which volitional control is in question, we examine ISO 9000 certification in China. ISO 9000 certification involves a process-based assessment that has become extremely popular since the 1990s (Benner and Veloso, 2008;Corbett, 2015, 2016;Dowlatshahi, 2011;Gray et al., 2015;Lo and Chang, 2007;Terziovski and Guerrero, 2014). ISO 9000 certification can facilitate global supply chain management, because the producer uses widely accepted standardized procedures to design, manufacture and distribute products that align with contract specifications of buyers. ...
... completing each step to garner ISO 9000 certification) can act as a signal of superior but unobservable attributes and thus provides a competitive benefit (Castka and Corbett, 2015;Singh et al., 2011;Terlaak and King, 2006). Some organizations may make ISO 9000 "their primary instrument for signaling quality to their customers" (Cole, 1998, p. 68) and for distinguishing themselves from uncertified competitors (Martínez-Costa et al., 2009;Lo and Chang, 2007). Thus, global certifications can convey important legitimacy benefits such as high quality management standards and operational processes to external parties. ...
... This result pertaining to the role of TQM commitment is in line with the study of Ataseven et al. (2014) who reported that organizational commitment expedited the internalization of practices that led to successful implementation of ISO 9000 implementation. Our results resonate well with Lo and Chang's (2007) findings in that internal benefits attributable to ISO 9000 certification are mainly attributed to the creation of an effective quality system, which is facilitated via TQM commitment. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine predictors of obtaining global certification (ISO 9000) in an emerging market by focusing on ownership structure and total quality management (TQM) commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adapts the theory of planned behavior to explain organizations that obtain global certification in an emerging market (China). Using 269 service firms at different stages of ISO 9000 certification (a proxy for goal-directed behavior/excellence by organizations), the study examines the influence of ownership structures (a proxy for perceived behavioral control) and TQM commitment (a proxy for attitude toward a behavior), using a probit model.
Findings
The results showed that ownership structures that were state-owned enterprises, privately owned enterprises and township-village enterprises (TVEs) had a lower probability of obtaining global certification. However, TQM commitment moderates the relationship between ownership structure and obtaining ISO 9000 certification for POEs and TVEs. The study found stronger results for a subsample of organizations that intended to obtain ISO 9000 certification. Among organizations without ISO 9000 certification, we examined organizations that began the learning process for ISO 9000 and those that had not, and found differences based on competitive pressures, ownership structures, and the moderating effect of TQM commitment.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may consider manufacturing organizations and other countries to further validate the findings of our study.
Practical implications
Creating strong TQM commitment can be an effective means for POEs and TVEs to obtain ISO 9000 certification.
Originality/value
This study is the first to adapt the theory of planned behavior for an organization-level analysis of ISO 9000 certification, especially in the service operations setting. The study found that TQM commitment selectively moderates ownership structures in explaining the probability that an organization obtained ISO 9000 certification.
... As is well known, the ISO 9001 standard requires that the organization's employees have the necessary training and preparation to be able to perform the new tasks that are required by certification (e.g., ISO 9001:2015). Previous experience with initiatives, actions or incipient QMSs can also contribute positively (Vloeberghs and Bellens, 1996;Lo and Chang, 2007), alongside with training, to the preparation that the employees need and, concurrently, to increase the receptivity to ISO 9001 standards. In the same way that some companies adopt TQM before starting the certification process, others adopt ISO 9001 before attempting to become TQM companies. ...
... In the same way that some companies adopt TQM before starting the certification process, others adopt ISO 9001 before attempting to become TQM companies. In each case, the previous experience with a quality system seems to facilitate the subsequent implementation of another/different quality system (Vloeberghs and Bellens, 1996;Gotzamani and Tsiotras, 2001;Lo and Chang, 2007). This idea, however, is not consensual, as Rahman (2001) and Martínez-Lorente and Martínez-Costa (2004) found no benefit in the performance of companies that have implemented two QMSs. ...
... Similarly, companies that have implemented TQM prior to ISO 9001 can achieve registration more easily. Consequently, companies that wish to be ISO 9001 registered should benefit from having previously implemented quality management initiatives, quality processes and/or other related quality systems (Vloeberghs and Bellens, 1996;Lo and Chang, 2007). Thus, the last research hypothesis focuses on the actions, initiatives, projects, or systems implemented by organizations, before they decide to start the certification process. ...
The purpose of this study is to assess whether companies conduct preparations, such as managing culture, before starting to implement an ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS). Based on a literature review, the paper develops a model of firm preparation for ISO 9001 certification and several research hypotheses. The survey research method adopted consists of data collection through questionnaires – sent to hotels of four and five stars, in Portugal, in two different moments (2012 and 2014) – and of a longitudinal data analysis based on non-parametric statistical tests. Results show that the majority of companies conduct preparations before starting to implement an ISO 9001 QMS. However, most companies do not assess their initial situation, nor do they plan for the preparations. One of the significant implications from this research is that a more coherent and integrated approach in ISO 9001 preparation is required. Other implications for practice and for research are also noted. This is the first study, as far as the authors are aware of, that addresses the topic of planning for the preparations that a company can make before starting to implement an ISO 9001 QMS.
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... Por último, la estadística de los artículos que se centraron en una o varias disciplinas de las normas técnicas ISO u otras normas, como calidad (ISO 9000 y 9001), ambiental (ISO 14001), seguridad alimentaria (ISO 22000), tratamiento de quejas (ISO 10002) y varias ISO (los artículos que mencionan en su contenido beneficios generales de varios estándares, sin profundizar en alguno específico), se pueden ver en la figura 4. Para un panorama general de los artículos revisados, se realizó una gráfica de la distribución de los artículos por disciplina, por año y por país, que se observa en la figura 5. La clasificación de los beneficios/impactos o efectos de la implementación de las normas técnicas ISO es distinta para cada uno de los autores, como es el caso de Chang y Lo (2005Lo ( , 2007) y Dick (2009) que coinciden en clasificar los "beneficios en internos y externos; otros autores no los denomina beneficios, sino "enseñanzas" ( Miotti, 2009). Padma, Ganesh y Rajendran (2006) los llaman "Efectos de la certificación ISO en los Factores Clave y los Indicadores de desempeño organizacional" y Boiral, 2012) los clasifica en cuatro categorías principales (beneficios organizacionales, beneficios de gestión y estratégicos, dificultades y factores de contingencia), donde cada una se clasifica en impactos internos, que a su vez se organiza en aspectos como la operación y calidad, y en impactos externos, con los aspectos: clientes y proveedores (en la tabla 1 se despliega en detalle cada uno de los aspectos de esta y cada una de las clasificaciones). ...
... También se evidencia que en las encuestas de estos estudios revisados, algunas empresas son renuentes para mantener la certificación ISO 9001, ya sea porque perciben que el mantenimiento de la certificación es lento y costoso, o porque creen que el sistema de calidad no es más que el requisito mínimo para cualquier empresa. Es posible que estas empresas prevean que los beneficios resultantes desde el mantenimiento de la certificación no serían suficientes para continuar con los esfuerzos (Chang y Lo, 2005;Lo y Chang, 2007), lo que significa que no vieron beneficios directos con la implementación de la norma técnica de calidad. ...
... Otros autores afirman que aunque la certificación ISO 9001 demuestra un nivel de reconocimiento internacional de la calidad, los resultados obtenidos en el estudio no apoyan la opinión respecto a que de la certificación ISO se puede esperar que esta conduzca a una mayor participación en el mercado y ventaja competitiva con el tiempo (Chang y Lo, 2005; Lo y Chang, 2007). En el estudio en Estados Unidos, tres años después de la certificación, las empresas certificadas no muestran un funcionamiento anormal fuertemente significativo en todas las especificaciones del grupo de control ( Corbett et al., 2005); adicionalmente, la mayoría de los empleadores en Estados Unidos quiere saber si las ventajas financieras asociadas con la norma ISO 9001 e ISO 14001 superan los costos asociados con la obtención de estas certificaciones (Aba y Badar, 2013). ...
p>Este artículo busca analizar los beneficios e impactos a nivel interno y externo de la implementación de sistemas de gestión normalizados en las organizaciones.
Para ello, se realizó una revisión sistemática exploratoria en las bases de datos Business Source Complete, Ebsco, SocINDEX y Proquest, siguiendo la metodología propuesta por Manchado, Tamames, López, Mohedano et al. (2009), de artículos publicados entre 1997 y 2014. El análisis se efectuó desde cinco categorías de beneficios e impactos en la gestión, la imagen, las personas, la productividad y el mercado. Los resultados muestran que, independientemente del sector económico, implementar una norma técnica ISO en la gran mayoría de los casos, mejora los resultados sobre el mercado y la productividad.</p
... Research on PI/CI in SMEs has focused principally on the refinement of existing processes to improve what is currently done (Wolff and Pett, 2006;Terziovski, 2010) through the application of previously developed tools and techniques, presenting the benefits firms are able to realise from them (Antony et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007). Antony (2001) and Kumar et al. (2006) illustrated how PI methods could be used to dramatically improve process performance using objective process data, but gave limited attention to the sustainability of improvements over time. ...
... The rigour and resources required by formal improvement approaches, such as Six Sigma, may not be wholly relevant for SMEs, who tend to favour less resource intensive approaches (Antony et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007). Benner and Veloso (2008) discussed how the implementation of ISO9000 processes could support and enable deliberate changes of operational processes, arguing that the repeated use of formalised procedures supports the gradual improvement of performance through repetition. ...
... Organisational learning in SMEs deploying learning (Fiol and Lyles, 1985;Jones et al., 2010). Requiring firms in the sample to have an accredited QMS reduced the variance between firms to some degree while ensuring firms had the necessary infrastructure to conduct PI (Lo and Chang, 2007). Firms were selected from an extensive practitioner-oriented company database designed to facilitate business-to-business interaction. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how organisational learning (OL) can occur through process improvement (PI) activities, leading to sustained improvements over time in the context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors study PI practices in six engineering-oriented SMEs via interview-based case studies. The authors draw from a range of literature and use an OL conceptual framework informed by Crossan et al. ’s (1999) 4I framework as an analytical lens.
Findings
The OL perspective provides new insights to conceptualise the nature of PI as a multi-level practice in SMEs. Effective PI practices within SMEs are shown to be consistent with OL concepts, enabling firms to translate individually identified improvement opportunities into organisational-level changes that result in sustained benefits. A new conceptual model is presented that explains how SMEs can learn through improvement activities. The key role of management support, both operational and strategic, is highlighted. It is necessary for management to provide sufficient PI opportunities to enable and sustain beneficial learning.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on a sample of engineering-oriented SMEs located in the UK. Further case-based, longitudinal, and survey-based research studies with firms of different types will enhance the generalisability of the findings, allowing the confirmation and extension of the new conceptual model.
Practical implications
The findings provide a theoretically underpinned framework for achieving OL in engineering-oriented SMEs through PI activities. The new model highlights the key mechanisms that enable learning from improvement activities. The findings highlight the key role played by management in introducing additional learning opportunities in the form of new business that requires exploratory learning. Without this, the reduction in improvement opportunities reduces the benefits that can be realised from PI.
Originality/value
OL provides a multi-level perspective to understanding how smaller firms are able to undergo systematic improvements and the support required to continually improve.
... In short, this suggests that the pursuit for HFSC is motivated by the need to improve internal processes, increase efficiency and the determination to improve production and product quality (Fotopoulos et al., 2010;Macheka et al., 2013;Karipidis and Tselempis, 2014;Maldonado-Siman et al., 2014;Zailani et al., 2015). Furthermore, firms are eager to become certified because they want to standardise their internal operations by standardising work procedures (Fotopoulos et al., 2010), standardising documentation (Lo and Chang, 2007), formalising internal system (Terziovski et al., 2003) and by increasing consistency in operations (Buttle, 1997). ...
... Firms that successfully secure FSC are known for their efforts in addressing the customers' demand. The improved relationship between the firm and customers subsequently resulted in the reduction of complaints (Lo and Chang, 2007). From a different perspective, resulting from increased productivity and quality, halal certified firms are able to reduce the number of production rejects and defects, successively resulting in fewer customer complaints (Fernando et al., 2014). ...
... Despite that the lack of motivation still persists, the persistent internal commitment from the top management could encourage a high level of motivation among the employees. According to Lo and Chang (2007), certification can also improve the awareness and cultivate the culture of production quality and safety, regardless of the size of the firm. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to review the motivation and benefits of implementing halal food safety certification (HFSC) from the upstream perspectives. Food safety certification (FSC) has long been a prevailing issue in the field of food safety research. However, there remains a general paucity of research in religion-specific form of FSC, such as the HFSC. At present, the limited existing studies on HFSC focus on the demand side, but studies on the supply side are scarce and largely inconclusive. The review is further scrutinised by addressing the internal and external motivations and benefits of HFSC.
Design/methodology/approach
The explanatory and general review of this paper is based on an extensive literature review in FSC as well as the author’s personal reflections on past research in halal certification.
Findings
The internal motivations concern a firm’s internal processes, people and the available resources, while the external motivations relate to a firm’s external elements such as government intervention and market pressure. A firm can reap the internal benefits, such as improved product quality, or enjoy the external benefits of better marketing and larger market shares.
Originality/value
The paper offers unique acumens and advances of a less-researched side of the halal food chain. It also compiles the conclusions of FSC research that could have a significant bearing on the internal and external impetuses and advantages of HFSC.
... The list of references given in the papers found in the electronic search was reviewed, and theoretical papers and those based on anecdotal evidence or case studies were eliminated. Efficiency (productivity, cost savings, reduction in mistakes and rework, shorter lead times, improved management control) Singels et al. (2001), Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002), Pan (2003), Arauz and Suzuki (2004), Lo and Chang (2007), Martínez-Costa et al. (2008), Singh (2008). Yin and Schmeidler (2009), Gavronski et al. (2008), Padma et al. (2008), Zeng et al. (2005). ...
... Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002), Rodríguez-Escobar et al. (2006), Lo and Chang (2007), Singh (2008). Schylander and Martinuzzi (2007). ...
... Market share Rodríguez-Escobar et al. (2006), Lo and Chang (2007), Zaramdini (2007), Singh (2008). Zeng et al. (2005). ...
The purpose of this paper is to identify the benefits of integrated management systems by comparing them with the benefits obtained through the individual implementation of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. The methodology used is a literature review based on an electronic search in the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Emerald databases. Findings show that although some benefits are common regardless the system management type, the benefits obtained with integration are greater than considering management systems separately because of the wider scope considered in integration. This is one of the first papers, to the best of our knowledge, to compare benefits from the two management systems standards when implemented separately and when integrated. In addition, some ideas are proposed for consideration in future research on the internalization of management systems and selection effect.
... Companies that use IMS finance 60.8 (chemicals and petrochemicals) and 72.15 percent (services) of their assets using third-party capital. It may be advantageous for companies to work with third-party capital, and this indicator may show that companies with certification have more credibility in the market when raising resources (Bernardo et al., 2015;Corbett et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007;Lo et al., 2011). At the 90 percent significance level, we reject H 0 for long-term debt (V15), χ 2 ¼ 3.33, GL ¼ 1, p ¼ 0.068 for the chemical and petrochemical sector, indicating that among JMTM companies with IMS, 19.82 percent of their debt will mature in the long term compared with companies in the control group, for which this figure is 11.66 percent. ...
... The economic performance indicators that presented significant differences between the IMS core and control groups were the following: the net sales indicator (V1), adjusted profit income (V3), net profit legal (V4), equity indicators (V5 and V6), general liquidity (V12) and the general debt indicator (V14). It may be advantageous for companies to work with the third-party capital, and this indicator can show that companies with certification have more credibility in the market, which may help them raise funds (Bernardo et al., 2015;Corbett et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007;Lo et al., 2011). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of integrated management systems (IMSs) on sustainability (based on the triple bottom line (TBL) concept). To accomplish this objective, this paper seeks to answer the following research questions: How can IMS impact organizational sustainability performance? And, how the key challenges of IMS can influence companies in practice?
Design/methodology/approach
A case-based approach is used based on the following four cases from different sectors: an electric power distributor; an environmental consulting firm; a public transport firm; and a firm with a broad portfolio of equipment, products and provisions for industrial services in different markets.
Findings
The results show that the integration of management systems was driven by the companies' strategies toward sustainability. The stakeholders' perception is that a firm's image as a sustainable company also enhances environmental and social performance. The economic performance was not emphasized. Companies noted that the main challenge was motivating and engaging human resources.
Originality/value
This paper shows that sustainability was not a motivation for implementing an IMS. But, implementing an IMS was a driver of sustainability performance. Also, the relationship between IMS and organizational performance can be presented based on TBL perspectives, and implementing an IMS can be challenging in practice.
... The same contradiction exists in the literature that studies the relationship between quality certification and the improvement of business results. Most of the works conclude the absence of significant effects (Hernández and González 2009;Huertas 2005;Kang and Shang 2007;Martínez et al. 2009;Martínez and Martínez 2007). In others, a positive relationship is established with profitability (Lafuente et al. 2009) and with profit . ...
... Thus, Dick et al. (2008) raise the existence of some self-selection: the largest hotel companies are the first to bet on quality certifications. Also that the positive results of the certification are more significant for the pioneer companies in certification (Benner and Veloso, 2008;Corredor and Goñi 2011;Dick 2009;Naveh et al. 2004), since these decrease with time and with the increase of certified competitors (Kang and Shang 2007). But the importance of the benefits of certification is moderated by the credibility of the certifying body (Martín 2000). ...
This study analyses the factors that users of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) commerce value as direct influences in the intention to use and the acceptance of a marketplace. An empirical model is formulated , which integrates three variables that evaluate trust and, in turn, other variables that influence C2C intention and purchases, taking a sample of 686 surveys gathered using the Internet in Colombia. The results show that trust is a fundamental factor in this type of electronic commerce in Colom-bia, given that C2C users seek intermediation pages with third-party recognition (TPR) and high web quality; similarly, key variables in the adoption of this type of commercial platform include finding low prices and social influence. The perception of trust in this type of electronic commerce is a broader concept that requires the analysis of psychosocial factors. For companies that manage marketplaces , this study allows them to focus on key actions and tools in their websites. This study allows one to get to know the users of this transactional system, specifically for the Latin American region, highlighting the variables that they most consider when engaging in direct commerce between people. The results show that C2C requires marketplaces that guarantee the necessary conditions for a purchase/sale transaction with trust and quality.
... The same contradiction exists in the literature that studies the relationship between quality certification and the improvement of business results. Most of the works conclude the absence of significant effects (Hernández and González 2009;Huertas 2005;Kang and Shang 2007;Martínez et al. 2009;Martínez and Martínez 2007). In others, a positive relationship is established with profitability (Lafuente et al. 2009) and with profit (Nair and Prajogo 2009). ...
... Thus, Dick et al. (2008) raise the existence of some self-selection: the largest hotel companies are the first to bet on quality certifications. Also that the positive results of the certification are more significant for the pioneer companies in certification (Benner and Veloso, 2008;Corredor and Goñi 2011;Dick 2009;Naveh et al. 2004), since these decrease with time and with the increase of certified competitors (Kang and Shang 2007). But the importance of the benefits of certification is moderated by the credibility of the certifying body (Martín 2000). ...
The economic viability of the companies is a more significant gap in rural tourism. The quality standards can be a new instrument to help consolidate rural businesses, because of its positive direct and indirect effects: improve professionalism, increase the size of rural companies, protect the architecture and traditional culture, and facilitate segments of tourists of smaller size but of higher economic value.
However, the interest of rural businesspeople for rural quality marks will depend on the economic benefits that they provide, at least to initially support the investment and costs of implementation.
The article reviews the literature and its findings on the perceived benefits of quality standards, paying particular attention to rural accommodation. The research develops an empirical work with an extensive database. It contained the economic results obtained by a set of rural hotels in a specific region of Spain. These rural accommodations operate with a public quality standard called “Casonas Asturianas” (Old Asturian Palaces).
The results provide evidence about the relationship between the quality rural standard and the economicperformance of the hotels. Also, the conclusions suggest the presence of some nuances in the self-selection bias, explicitly referring to high season tariffs.
... 14 Cette même contradiction existe parmi les études qui analysent la relation entre la certification qualité et l'amélioration des résultats des entreprises. La plupart des travaux concluent à l'absence d'effets significatifs (Lo et Shang, 2007 ;Costa et Chol, 2009 ;Hernández et González, 2009). D'autres travaux établissent une relation positive avec la rentabilité (Lafuente et al., 2009) et avec les bénéfices (Nair et Prajogo, 2009). ...
... 16 La littérature fait aussi état d'autres conclusions intéressantes concernant les certifications qualité dans le tourisme, telles que l'existence d'un parti pris d'autosélection, qui fait que les entreprises les plus rentables soient celles qui ont décidé d'obtenir une certification avant les autres (Dick et al., 2008). Les résultats positifs de la certification qualité sont plus importants pour les entreprises pionnières (Benner et Veloso, 2008 ;Corredor et Goñi, 2011), du fait que les avantages diminuent avec le temps et avec l'augmentation des concurrents certifiés (Lo et Shang, 2007). Par ailleurs, la certification qualité d'un hôtel peut être à la fois un critère de sélection pour le tourisme rural (Mutalib et al., 2018) et un moteur pour améliorer la gestion des clients et des employés (Park et Yoon, 2011 ;Del Rio, 2016). ...
L’un des piliers principaux du tourisme rural durable est la viabilité économique de ses entreprises. Les normes de qualité rurale peuvent être un instrument intéressant pour l’évaluer, car elles permettent de mesurer les effets positifs directs et indirects de la durabilité, dans le but d’améliorer la professionnalisation et la taille des entreprises rurales, de mettre en valeur l’architecture et la culture traditionnelles, d’accroître la valeur économique de segments de tourisme de petite taille. Ainsi, l’intérêt des entreprises rurales pour obtenir des marques de qualité dépend des avantages économiques qu’elles peuvent leur apporter, au moins pour supporter initialement l’investissement et les coûts de sa mise en œuvre. Nous avons effectué une recherche empirique à partir d’une base de données des résultats économiques obtenus par un ensemble d’hôtels ruraux dans une région spécifique de l’Espagne qui ont adopté une norme de qualité rurale. Les résultats fournissent des preuves de l’existence d’une relation directe entre la norme de qualité et les résultats économiques du tourisme rural, principalement grâce à l’effet positif sur le prix des chambres. C’est un enjeu fondamental pour réaliser des investissements de qualité dans les hôtels ruraux.
tourisme rural, qualité, certification qualité, avantages, durabilité
... An identical contradiction exists in the relationship between quality certification and the improvement of business results. There are works that reflect an absence of significant effects (Kang & Shang, 2007;Martínez, Choi, Martínez, & Martínez, 2009;Martínez & Martínez, 2007), while others establish a positive relationship with profitability (Bouranta, Psomas, & Pantouvakis, 2017;Heras & Arana, 2011;Lafuente et al., 2009) and with profits (Nair & Prajogo, 2009). ...
... The existence of these differences in performance according to hotel typology and standard can explain the divergence of existing results in the literature, especially in the works that do not find evidence of relationship (Kang & Shang, 2007;Martínez et al., 2009). ...
The application of the Signalling Theory to the case of the tourism standards of quality are established. An empirical research study on the performance of a wide range of hotels that have evolved from not possessing certification to being accredited by some form of quality standard (regional, national or international) during a period of seven years. The results provide evidence on the usefulness of quality certifications as signals to the market to achieve increases in sales, gains in market share, increased occupancy and average room price, and therefore an improvement in profitability per room and overall profit for the hotels.
... Companies that use IMS finance 60.8 (chemicals and petrochemicals) and 72.15 percent (services) of their assets using third-party capital. It may be advantageous for companies to work with third-party capital, and this indicator may show that companies with certification have more credibility in the market when raising resources (Bernardo et al., 2015;Corbett et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007;Lo et al., 2011). At the 90 percent significance level, we reject H 0 for long-term debt (V15), χ 2 ¼ 3.33, GL ¼ 1, p ¼ 0.068 for the chemical and petrochemical sector, indicating that among JMTM companies with IMS, 19.82 percent of their debt will mature in the long term compared with companies in the control group, for which this figure is 11.66 percent. ...
... The economic performance indicators that presented significant differences between the IMS core and control groups were the following: the net sales indicator (V1), adjusted profit income (V3), net profit legal (V4), equity indicators (V5 and V6), general liquidity (V12) and the general debt indicator (V14). It may be advantageous for companies to work with the third-party capital, and this indicator can show that companies with certification have more credibility in the market, which may help them raise funds (Bernardo et al., 2015;Corbett et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007;Lo et al., 2011). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the integration of management systems that include economic, social and environmental standards on economic performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology consists of analyzing reports of certified companies and secondary data on economic performance indicators. Two sample groups of companies were compared against each other. The core group is composed of companies that have integration of certification on each triple bottom line (TBL) dimensions, economic, environmental and social (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001). The control group is composed of companies of the same size and sector (mirror sample) but without standards related to social and environmental dimensions. The comparative analysis of both core and control groups was performed based on non-parametric methods, such as the mood median test and structural equation modeling.
Findings
Several economic performance indicators of both groups were statistically analyzed and compared. The results show that companies with integrated management systems (IMS) (core group) on a TBL perspective showed better economic performance compared to other companies of the control group. Moreover, this study shows that the industry sector influences this relation, particularly in the energy, chemical and petrochemicals, services and transportation sectors.
Practical implications
For executives and managers, the results suggest that the amount invested in IMS in a TBL perspective increases the economic performance of companies, resulting in profitability, increased equity and sales growth. It reinforces the win–win perspective on sustainability in companies instead of the mindset on negative trade-offs on economics.
Originality/value
This research sheds light on controversies, discussed in the literature, concerning the positive vs negative effects on the economic performance of IMS, with social and environmental standards. The results show that economic performance is improved in companies of the core group.
... Top management commitment and support have an impact on the success and implementation of a quality management system (Casadesús et al., 2010;Viada-Stenger et al., 2010). In Lo and Chang's (2007) view, those firms that adopt a standard for internal reasons are willing to maintain it when the number of certified competitors rises. The fulfilment of standard requirements forces firms to modify their internal processes and procedures. ...
... The fulfilment of standard requirements forces firms to modify their internal processes and procedures. Furthermore, quality standard implementation involves a high volume of documentation, consuming considerable time and effort; this works as an obstacle to its widespread adoption (Casadesús et al., 2010;Chan, 2008Chan, , 2011Lo and Chang, 2007;Viada-Stenger et al., 2010). Finally, some companies also report a lack of skilled consultants (Chan, 2008(Chan, , 2011. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the antecedents of two variables concerning the presence of quality certifications in hotel chains: the (ex ante) decision to become a member of the quality system and the (ex post) trend to increase or decrease the number of certified properties. Six hypotheses are posed and tested.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical investigation is carried out on the Spanish Q for Quality in Tourism using a database including 295 hotel chains and 2,727 hotels.
Findings
The results evidence the presence of differences in the behavior of hotel chains relative to certification depending on their size, market segment, customer origin and the geographical concentration of their establishments.
Originality/value
This research deepens in how the hotel chain characteristics affect the effectiveness of a quality certification. The consideration of two stages in investment decisions allows the authors to identify differences in the ex ante and ex post decision processes. As a result, one factor (geographical concentration) has been detected as being underrated by managers in the first stage.
... Some studies have emphasised the importance of internal aspects (Williams 2004;Climent 2005;Bhuyam and Alam 2005;Bayati and Taghavi 2007;Terziovsky and Power 2007;Martinez-Costa et al. 2008;Lo et al. 2009;Wahid and Corner 2009;Heras et al. 2011;Melao and Guia 2013), whereas other studies have stressed the importance of external aspects (Wayhan et al. 2002;Nicolau and Sellers 2003;Corbett et al. 2005;Sharma 2005;Terlaak and King 2006;Martínez-Costa and Martínez-Lorente 2007;Vinuesa 2007;Benner and Veloso 2008;Dick et al. 2008;Karapetrovic et al. 2010). Regardless, most studies have reported positive results for both internal and external aspects (Escanciano et al. 2001;Gotzamani and Tsiotras 2002;Casadesús et al. 2004;Mercado et al. 2005;Rodriguez et al. 2006;Calisir 2007;Lo and Chang 2007;Zaramdini 2007;Feng et al. 2008;Jang and Lin 2008;Magd et al. 2010). Tari et al. (2012) reviewed 82 studies on the benefits of ISO 9001, reporting that the most commonly cited positive effects were internal aspects related to operations and human resources and external aspects related to the customer. ...
... The results of the analysis seem to be consistent with those of other authors mentioned in section (Escanciano et al. 2001;Gotzamani and Tsiotras 2002;Casadesús et al. 2004;Mercado et al. 2005;Rodriguez et al. 2006;Calisir 2007;Lo and Chang 2007;Zaramdini 2007;Feng et al. 2008;Jang and Lin 2008;Magd et al. 2010), who have reported that the effects of ISO 9001 may be internal and external. This finding is valid, regardless of the fact that the positive influence of implementing ISO 9001 was somewhat greater for external benefits, as demonstrated by the fact that the 1 st , 3 rd and 5 th positions of the ranking in Table 4 were occupied by external effects. ...
The ISO 9001 Standard – a quality assurance standard for products and services – is well established in the construction industry, which is one of the major industries in the world, including Spain. The objectives of this paper are, on the one hand, to analyse the results of adhering to this standard for construction companies in Spain, and on the other, to examine whether these results are affected by the size of the organization and the seniority of the certification. To this end, a questionnaire was sent to quality managers of 302 companies in the industry, and the responses of 126 valid questionnaires received were treated by descriptive analysis and ANOVA. From the answers gathered is concluded that obtaining the ISO 9001 certification has positive effects leading to benefits which are both “internal” and “external”. Some of the most significant internal benefits mentioned were improvements to the organisational processes, while among the external benefits, commercial aspects, such as better chances of competing on the market, were mentioned most frequently. It was also observed that the size of the organization does not significantly modify the positive effects of adherence to the standard, while the age of the certification itself, has a significant influence on the positive results of the adherence.
... On the one hand, ISO 9001 is sometimes considered too costly and time-demanding when compared to the operational outcomes (e.g. Lo and Chang, 2007;Zimon and Dellana, 2019). On the other, firms decertify because they perceive a reduction of market interest in the certification (Chiarini, 2019). ...
Purpose-In recent years, many companies have decided to decertify from their previously adopted corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards. The aim of this paper is to explore the phenomenon by focusing on the most important auditable CSR standard: Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000).
Design/methodology/approach-First, an event study is performed on a dataset composed of 136 SA8000 decertified public listed companies to analyse the possible relationship between certification, decertification and firms' operating performance. Second, the authors shed light on the differences between 94 SA8000 (still) certified and the abovementioned 136 decertified firms. Finally, 10 interviews are conducted with decertified firms in the dataset to deepen the outcomes of the previous analyses.
Findings-The results show that, despite an initial positive effect in terms of sales and profitability, decertified companies experienced a reduction in productivity and profitability in the years following the certification, while positive outcomes emerged after the decertification. The study also highlights that certified and decertified firms differ in terms of home country, industry and labour intensity. Originality/value-The paper contributes to the literature by opening the debate on an important but unexplored research area: the decertification from the most popular CSR standard, i.e. SA8000, and its relationship with firms' performance. In doing this, it also highlights the main differences between decertified and certified companies.
... First, we expect that firms experience impacts from ISO/IEC 27001 adoption, which will affect their overall benefit perception. Second, organizations often face various difficulties when adopting an ISMS ( Culot et al., 2021 ), which makes adoption more challenging and may even outweigh the benefits obtained ( Lo and Chang, 2007 ). It is reasonable to suggest that companies that experience low impacts from ISO/IEC 27001 implementation may consider the adoption decision as a bad investment, which may even lead to the decision not to renew the certificate ( Ferreira and Cândido, 2021 ). ...
Despite the growing dependence of companies on information technology and the increasingly negative impact of security incidents worldwide, there is little research on the management of information security at the company level. This paper seeks to expand knowledge on the implementation of an information security management system based on the widely used international standard ISO/IEC 27001. We present motives, experienced impacts, and obstacles related to ISO/IEC 27001 implementation using data from a survey of 125 ISO/IEC 27001 certified companies in Germany. Since adoption rates vary between ICT and non-ICT sector companies, we highlight sector-related variations. We classify the adoption of this standard as a preventive organizational innovation and apply Structural Equation Modeling to unearth explanations for the comparatively low adoption of this management system standard among companies outside the ICT sector. We, therefore, derive recommendations for policymakers, standardization, and certification bodies to foster its diffusion.
... More than one million organizations have obtained a certificate showing that their quality management systems meet the requirements in the international standard ISO 9001 (ISO, 2008, ISO 2015and ISO, 2018. Several researchers report positive impacts of implementation of ISO 9001 (Cadadesús and Karapetrovic, 2005;Corbett et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007;Nicolau and Sellers, 2002;Padma et al., 2008), others find hardly any or no positive impact (Dick et al., 2008;Martínez-Costa et al., 2009;Terziovski et al., 1997;Tzelepis et al., 2006), and some report mixed positive/neutral effects (Benner and Veloso, 2008;Boiral and Roy, 2007;Nair and Prajogo, 2009;Yeung et al., 2003). The best explanation for these differences seems to be the motivation to implement the standard. ...
Standards may be an advantage for a company but employees often resist them because they feel they are forced to behave in a certain way. This chapter uses a philosophical approach to study why staff tend to resist company standardisation initiatives. Foucault and Habermas provide insights into the reasons for this resistance but do not solve the tension between freedom and control. Dooyeweerd's philosophy seems to be more promising. This chapter uses a company standardisation project of an automotive supplier to examine three philosophical approaches to understand resistance to standards and to investigate how this resistance can be avoided by managing in-company standardisation in a more holistic way.
... However, some studies (e.g. Lo & Chang, 2007) indicate that the main motivations in leading Taiwanese companies to pursue certification are the desire to improve their internal operations rather than satisfy customer's demands or external pressures. According to the articles and its geographical dissemination, Asia and Europe have been the continents where more studies have been performed. ...
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to (1) identify and classify the main motives that underpin the theoretical and empirical studies of ISO 14000, and (2) to analyze the evolution of these motives regarding time, geographic domain and industry. Design/Methodology/Approach - The analysis was conducted through a literature review, analyzing 66 articles between 1998 and 2017 from Scopus and/or Web of Science databases. Findings - A categorization of motives to implement the ISO 14001 standard is proposed. The main important motivations are external: customer pressure and compliance with legal frameworks. These motivations remain unchanged over time. Asia is the region that pays the most attention to the standard, followed by Europe. Finally, the service sector should be analyzed with more detail, as the manufacturing sector has been the focus of most studies. Originality/Value - Policymakers, management bodies and standardization agencies can benefit from these findings.
... c o m nal ones (Benner & Veloso, 2008;Corbett, Montes, & Kirsch, 2005;Dick, Heras, & Casadesús, 2008;Karapetrovic, Casadesus, & Heras, 2010;Martínez-Costa & Martínez-Lorente, 2007;Wayhan, Kirche, & Khumawala, 2002). Nevertheless, most studies identify both internal and external positive effects (Calisir, 2007;Feng, Terziovski, & Samson, 2008;Gotzamani & Tsiotras, 2002;Lo & Chang, 2007;Rodriguez-Escobar et al., 2006). Furthermore, Karapetrovic et al. (2010) confirm that the ISO 9000 benefits and costs decrease over time, but benefits remain important, at least the ones referred to the first objective of the ISO 9001:2000 standard: customer satisfaction. ...
This volume explores organizational legitimacy in business, featuring examples from a variety of industries around the world. Synthesizing the most current theoretical insights and best practices, the contributing authors examine the ways in which organizational legitimacy can be understood, its perceived influence on the market, and the relationship between organizational legitimacy and overall organizational success. The authors draw from different methodological perspectives to develop a holistic approach to organizational legitimacy that transcends the traditional concepts of corporate reputation, business ethics or corporate social responsibility. Historically, efforts to understand how organizations acquire, manage and use legitimacy have applied insights from institutional theory, resource dependence theory, organizational ecology and stakeholder theory, but the field has remained fragmented, despite the profound implications of achieving legitimacy for ensuring organizational stability, survival and sustainability through access to capital, resources and business opportunities, as well as problem solving, performance measurement and stakeholder support. Presenting case studies of successful initiatives, the book addresses: How organizational legitimacy is defined and measured. How organizations achieve legitimacy and how they acquire resources. How different stakeholders (e.g., consumers, investors, employees) make legitimacy judgments and resource allocation decisions. Whether audiences in the same socio-cultural context arrive at shared legitimacy judgments with regard to a focal organization. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018. All Rights Reserved.
... What the above formulation fails to acknowledge is that many of the costs incurred as a result of strong monitoring and enforcement requirements are administrative in nature. Although one might assume that the strictness or lenience of program standards drive participation, the administrative burden of voluntary programs is an oft-cited reason for dropout (Lo and Chang 2007). For example, data collection and recordkeeping requirements have prevented some applicants from accessing Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) seafood certification, despite evident sustainability gains (Foley and McCay 2014). ...
Voluntary programs have become a recognized instrument for achieving public and private governance goals. As a governance instrument, these programs face a design challenge: to generate societal benefits, a voluntary program must establish stringent standards that support the program’s environmental or social goals, and at the same time program costs that may deter program participation. We argue that the theoretical framework of administrative burden provides a means to consider how voluntary programs may set and adjust entry barriers to motivate participation while maintaining credibility. The framework’s applicability is illustrated through an examination of National Organic Program initiatives to reduce the administrative burden faced by agricultural producers seeking organic certification. Through a discussion drawing on the case, we identify three questions and a series of theoretical expectations for research contributing to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of voluntary program administrative burden.
... Benefits to business: Increased sales with existing customers, more new local customers, less complaints, increased profits, more new overseas customers. Beattie et al. (1999) in Liang et al. (2007) claimed that the main strategic benefit that ISO 9000 certification provides is an improved relationship with customers which lead to an increased market share. The main operational business benefit is the documentation of operational procedures which strengthen employee capabilities and allow the company to respond more quickly to changes in market demand. ...
ISO 9001 Quality Management System is one of the ISO 9000 set of standards that provides a series of guidelines on how to establish a quality system to manage the processes that affect its product or services. There are many benefits offered by ISO but it does not mean if a company managed to secure the certification, they will be able to experience all the beneficial outcomes. Construction companies that wish to implement the system should be prepared for the upcoming obstacles that may be encountered during the process. The objectives of this research are to identify the benefits of implementing ISO 9001 Quality Management System in the Malaysian construction companies, to identify the problems faced by construction companies in implementing ISO 9001 Quality Management System and to identify the strategies adopted by the ISO certified construction companies in overcoming or minimizing the implementation problems. Case study approach has been selected to collect data for this research. For the purpose of the case study, five construction companies were selected to be interviewed. One representative form each company is interviewed in order to get more information from their perspective regarding the benefits, problems and strategies for the implementation of ISO 9001 QMS. The research findings concluded that improved company's management & work efficiency as the most important benefit from the implementation of the system while lack of awareness on the system among staff is the most significant problem. It is suggested training and audit (internal and external) need to be enhanced to overcome those implementation problems.
... A QMS (particularly ISO 9001) represent an institution that is developing in legitimacy as an accepted standard at a society level (Benner and Veloso 2008). As a result, firms may choose to implement such a system to improve company image, because customers demand it or as a response to competitors implementing similar systems ( Lo and Chang 2007). Drawing from Meyer and Rowan (1977), these business arguments provide an established logic that management can buy into. ...
Process improvement has been identified as a central topic of operations management, being relevant to the different functional areas and assisting in providing the benefits operations management aims to realise. While extensive research has been conducted on specific process improvement methodologies, high resource requirement of specific process improvement methodologies make them inappropriate for many Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Compared to specific improvement methodologies, organisational learning was identified as an appropriate theoretical perspective from which to analyse process improvement activities within SMEs, leading to the presentation of the following three research questions:
How do engineering-oriented SMEs undertake process improvement?
What is the applicability of the three models of organisational learning within engineering-oriented SMEs?
How does organisational learning contribute to understanding of process improvement within engineering-oriented SMEs?
The research questions were addressed through in-depth, interpretive, interview based case studies with 14 Engineering Oriented SMEs. The six exploratory cases studies enabled the identification of specific process improvement practices that related isolated problems or opportunities with organisational level changes. These activities appeared to require management to implement formalised operational processes to ensure changes were captured within operational procedures and subsequently used by operational staff. Management support and culture then appeared to affect the ability of process improvement practices to provide firm level benefits to the case companies. Without directions by management or acceptance by operational staff, efforts directed towards process improvement tended to have limited impact on the benefits companies were able to realise from process improvement. Findings were then analysed from three conceptualisations of organisational learning identified within operations management literature. This provided theoretically underpinned insight to the exploration of process improvement, emphasising the importance of experience, involvement with external parties and the multi-level nature of organisational culture.
Following the analysis of the exploratory phase, the findings were confirmed within 6 additional engineering-oriented SMEs (2 were excluded). The confirmatory case companies allowed the further exploration of the relationships between the emergent themes in order for the third research question to be addressed. Organisational learning provided justification for the interaction and bidirectional relationship between process improvement and culture. Organisational learning also provided justification for the important role of management, in relation to interpreting the operating environment and adapting how they provided resources to process improvement.
The research thus contributes to operations management theory, by building upon organisational learning theory, in terms of how process improvement is conceptualised, factors affecting the benefits realised from process improvement and the importance of management to provide resources and direction to process improvement activities. Within all the case companies, this involved both providing sufficient resources in terms of training and time to engage in process improvement, but also selecting work that provided firms with sufficient process improvement opportunities. By effectively engaging in process improvement, firms appeared better equipped to compete against larger firms and low cost economies.
... Although specific operations management frameworks may not be relevant to SMEs, Hill et al. (2001) illustrated how firms were able to work towards TQM by implementing simpler QMS. The relevance of QMS to smaller firms is illustrated by the large proportion of firms with ISO9000 in the research on small firms by Antony et al. (2005) and the large proportion of small firms in the research on ISO certification by Lo and Chang (2007). An ISO system requires agreed upon procedures that represent the organizational practices and are validated by third party accreditation (ISO 2012). ...
Process improvement represents a critical activity within organisations, as a means of adapting operational processes to improve efficiency and more effectively meet customer requirements. However, limited research has been undertaken with Small Enterprises (SE) to explore the practices and role of process improvement in organisations operating within highly competitive environments and with limited resources. The following research is based on exploratory, interview based case studies conducted with 11 Engineering oriented SEs. Findings, grounded in data, identify process improvement within this context is a multi-level practice. In conflict with previous literature, process improvement is not simply a means of improvement, an outcome or specific tools and techniques, but a means of winning business and improving employee attitudes. In doing so, the study answers important calls for more qualitative research in the field of operations management and addresses inconsistencies in the conceptualisation of process improvement. Further research on how perceptions impact process improvement behaviours at the individual-level, and how changes are realised as a combination of individual, group and organisational level practices are highlighted as addition avenues of research.
... More than one million organizations have obtained a certificate showing that their quality management systems meet the requirements in the international standard ISO 9001 (ISO, 2008, ISO 2015and ISO, 2018. Several researchers report positive impacts of implementation of ISO 9001 (Cadadesús and Karapetrovic, 2005;Corbett et al., 2005;Lo and Chang, 2007;Nicolau and Sellers, 2002;Padma et al., 2008), others find hardly any or no positive impact (Dick et al., 2008;Martínez-Costa et al., 2009;Terziovski et al., 1997;Tzelepis et al., 2006), and some report mixed positive/neutral effects (Benner and Veloso, 2008;Boiral and Roy, 2007;Nair and Prajogo, 2009;Yeung et al., 2003). The best explanation for these differences seems to be the motivation to implement the standard. ...
Standards may be an advantage for a company, but employees often resist them because they feel they are forced to behave in a certain way. Even a broad approach like TQM seems to have to too little focus on the “human aspects” to prevent resistance and failure during change projects like in-company standardization. This chapter uses a philosophical approach to study why staff tend to resist company standardization initiatives. Foucault and Habermas provide insights into the reasons for this resistance but do not solve the tension between freedom and control. Dooyeweerd's philosophy seems to be more promising. This chapter uses a company standardization project of an automotive supplier to examine these three philosophical approaches to understand resistance to standards and to investigate how this resistance can be avoided by managing in-company standardization in a more holistic way.
... ISO 9001 has been revised several times in the past three decades: once in 1994, once with a major change in 2000, once with a minor revision in 2008 (To, Lee and Yu, 2011), and the recent one by redefining quality management principles in 2015. The latest version ISO 9001:2015emphasizes a process orientation based on the PDCA model and indicates that the following seven quality management practices are the guiding principles: (1) customer focus, (2) leadership, (3) engagement of people, (4) process approach, (5) improvement, (6) evidence-based decision making, and (7) relationship management (ISO, 2015).Although ISO 9001 should be applicable to large and small; private and public; industrial, commercial and service organizations in principle, the extant literature between 1991 and 2007 primarily focused on the adoption and implementation of ISO 9001 in the manufacturing environment (Bohoris et al., 1993;Corbett, 2006;DeAngelis, 1991;Leung et al., 1999;Lo and Chang, 2007;Magd et al., 2003;Westwood and Dale, 1993). Yu (2009), andYu (2011) pioneered the empirical study of ISO 9001 implementation in service organizations and in the public sector. ...
Quality, once a luxury for many organizations, becomes a necessity in all fields and sectors. This study aimed at examining pertinent quality assurance systems in the higher education environment in Macao and Hong Kong. Such an aim was achieved by performing a qualitative study and using the interpretivist approach based on the internationally recognized quality management system standard (ISO 9001) and the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF). A literature review on the ISO 9001 standard (adopted by over 1 million public and private organizations worldwide) and the HKQF (covering the higher education sector in Hong Kong) was conducted. Themes that may impact teaching and student learning at the institutional and program levels would also be explored. The findings from this desktop review were highlighted and summarized. The study enables higher education institutions, faculty members, students, academic advisers, and other stakeholders to gain further insights from pertinent quality assurance and management frameworks.
Purpose
Certified and non-certified organisations must make strategic decisions regarding ISO 9001 adoption, maintenance, renewal and abandonment. However, the ISO 9001 literature lacks a typology of the strategic options available to these organisations. The purpose of this conceptual study is to develop a framework of the alternative strategies for the stages of the ISO 9001 life cycle (implementation/certification, certification maintenance and recertification/decertification stages).
Design/methodology/approach
The research method is based on literature review, selection of relevant variables and synthesis of coherent alternative strategies.
Findings
Results include the main variables of relevance for the definition of the ISO 9001 strategies (e.g. life cycle stage, organisational motivations, barriers, benefits, internalisation degree and quality of the certification body), the main situations in which organisations can find themselves (in terms of ISO 9001 certification, maintenance and decertification), the strategic options for each situation (e.g.: certify, maintain certification, try harder, change certification body, intensify learning and experimentation with ISO 9001) and the implications and consequences of such options. Research results are integrated into a strategy framework, composed of three strategy matrices, one for each stage of the life cycle. The matrices present the strategic situations, available strategic alternatives and benefits of the strategies.
Originality/value
This study combines the results of previous research to develop an original strategy framework, which constitutes the main research contribution. As far as the author is aware, there is no such strategy framework in the literature. The framework has relevant implications for theory and practice and helps to identify future research directions.
This article examines the reasons that drive companies to leave Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000)-the main auditable corporate social responsibility standard-and which alternative paths they undertake after the abandonment. As decertification from SA8000 is an under-researched phenomenon, an exploratory approach based on the analysis of 15 multi-country/industry companies has been adopted. Findings show that firms leave SA8000 for several reasons including the reduction of commercial advantages, paperwork overload, and complexities in orders and suppliers management. Our investigation recognizes decertification drivers that are recurring in other standards as well as new ones specific to SA8000. For what concerns the post-decertification paths, we observe that firms pursue three distinct exit strategies (i.e., adoption of an alternative initiative/standard; no adoption of any alternative social standard/initiative, but still respect some SA8000 requirements; no adoption of any alternative social standard/initiative and stop taking care of SA8000 requirements).
This study explores how integrated management systems (IMS) as business tools relate to organisations’ capability of achieving sustainable development, and what knowledge gaps are still existing. Further, it discusses if IMS is only an antecedent of sustainability, or if there is a vice-versa relationship. Therefore, a systematic literature review (SLR) is performed to provide a summary of existing literature. In addition, an exploratory review adds to the discussion of a vice-versa relationship. The work reveals that the research topic is characterised by multiple constraints, thus demanding more in-detail studies. The proposed research agenda entails eight future research questions directed at unfolding models in practice, producing large-scale and cross-regional empirical analyses, exploring more IMS components, and investigating how IMS helps organisations to incorporate sustainability concepts at the economic level. An overview on the connections between IMS and sustainability has been absent in the literature in such detail. The work implicates that in practice managers should consider implementing IMS for fostering corporate sustainability, and in academia future research should be directed at the identified knowledge gaps. Thereby, the justification of a vice-versa relationship adds a new viewpoint to academics’ understanding of the topic and the formulated research agenda sets the path for future studies.
A adoção de certificações de qualidade configura-se como uma das medidas mais requisitadas para o crescimento interno de empresas. Entretanto, este processo mostra-se árduo e desafiador. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho buscou traçar um panorama de empresas brasileiras nordestinas certificadas com a ISO 9001 no que tange às motivações, dificuldades e benefícios com a implantação. A pesquisa norteou-se primeiro com um levantamento bibliográfico em livros, artigos e periódicos sobre Engenharia da Qualidade, com foco na certificação ISO 9001. Aplicou-se questionários a empresas para levantamento de dados. Elas estavam listadas no Certifiq/Inmetro e no Comitê Brasileiro de Qualidade (ABNT/CB-25). Por suas características, a pesquisa classifica-se como bibliográfica, quantitativa, aplicada, survey, descritiva. Para o tratamento dos dados, utilizou-se os indicadores estatísticos de média ponderada, moda, mediana, Alfa de Cronbach e Coeficiente de Correlação de Pearson, além da ferramenta MS Excel, versão 2013. Enviou-se questionários a 208 empresas, com uma taxa de retorno de 32,7%. Concluiu-se que as maiores motivações empresariais para a certificação de qualidade foram: busca por melhoria de qualidade de produtos, melhorias na gestão de processos e obtenção de vantagens de mercado. As principais dificuldades foram as resistências dos funcionários às mudanças, excesso de burocracia e escassez de recursos. Em contrapartida, os benefícios centraram-se em ganhos na gestão de qualidade, redução de erros/defeitos/retrabalho e maior força nas ações de marketing e publicidade.
En el mundo se producen, aproximadamente, 3 millones de toneladas de aceites de oliva. España, con una producción media cercana a 1.300.000 toneladas, es el país líder en producción. Dentro de España, Andalucía produce el 60% de la producción nacional y, en consecuencia, alrededor del 30% de la producción mundial. Las industrias vinculadas a la producción de aceites de oliva, industrias de primera transformación, son de dos tipos: cooperativas y no cooperativas -industriales. Del total de industrias, el 50% son de un tipo y el 50% de otro. No obstante, las cooperativas poseen una cuota de mercado del 70%. En el contexto descrito, con este trabajo se pretende contribuir, mediante el conocimiento generado, publicado y transferido, a la transformación sostenible de la industria agroalimentaria oleícola de Andalucía. Para ello, se plantea como objetivo general: conocer el comportamiento de las empresas productoras de aceites de oliva de Andalucía hacia la adopción de estándares de calidad, ambientales y de seguridad alimentaria, centrándonos, posteriormente, en el estándar ISO 14001 y las motivaciones de su adopción, dada su implicación en nuevas formas de producir eco-procesos y sostenibilidad de las empresas. Además, como el objetivo de toda organización es la consecución de la comercialización de sus productos y un mayor rendimiento comercial, se va a analizar la relación de este estándar con el rendimiento comercial, económico y financiero de las empresas productoras de aceites de oliva. Como objetivos específicos, se pretende alcanzar los siguientes: • Analizar las percepciones que directores, empleados y responsables de calidad de las industrias oleícolas de Andalucía tienen sobre el concepto de sostenibilidad (Objetivo 1). • Identificar las principales motivaciones, barreras y beneficios para la adopción de la ISO 14001, señalados por los directores, empleados y responsables de calidad de las industrias oleícolas de Andalucía (Objetivo 2). • Analizar la influencia de la adopción de la norma ISO 14001 en el rendimiento económico y comercial de las empresas productoras de aceites de oliva en Andalucía y su implicación en los beneficios organizacionales. Se propone verificar si la decisión de implementar la norma conduce a mayores ventas, tanto nacionales como internacionales, así como a un mejor resultado económico (Objetivo 3).
_____________________________________ABSTRACT__________________________________
There are approximately 1,000,000 ISO 9001 certified companies worldwide. Every year, one third of these companies must decide whether to renew, or not, their certificate. The number of companies that abandon or lose the certificate has been growing and reached an average of 60,000 per year. Considering that there is currently no theory or model to explain this propensity of firms to decertify (18%), the aim of this study is to identify the underlying factors influencing firm propensity for ISO 9001 withdrawal and to analyse the relationships between these factors. In order to achieve these aims, the research develops a structural equation model (PLS-SEM), from extant literature, and estimates the model with survey data from a sample of 221 ISO 9001 certified companies. Results show that the main antecedents to decertification propensity are barriers to the initial certification, (absence of) external certification benefits, decertification motivations, and expected performance after decertification. This is the first study to address decertification from a systemic and comprehensive perspective and to present a structural equation model of the phenomenon. The study makes an integrated contribution to explain decertification propensity with the help of novel research variables. Results suggest several contributions to theory, and practice, and contribute to clarify a major contradiction in the field.
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Full FREE version of the accepted manuscript: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/14954
Editor published version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.108024
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the extent to which knowledge management (KM), customer satisfaction (CS) and organizational image (OI) discriminate quality-certified municipalities from non-certified ones (ISO 9001).
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was carried out involving 81 Portuguese municipalities (40 certified, 41 non-certified), paired in a random sampling procedure. The Knowledge Management Questionnaire ( n =1,372 municipality employees), the Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Organizational Image Questionnaire ( n =3,096 residents) were applied. Multiple discriminant analysis was performed.
Findings
The results indicate that certified and non-certified municipalities are distinct based on a function that considers KM (competitive orientation and formal KM practices), CS (intangible and tangible factors) and OI (favorable image).
Research limitations/implications
The findings need further validation in other countries. However, the results highlight the importance of quality certification for both employees and residents.
Practical implications
The results encourage local public administration organizations to introduce and maintain quality certification.
Originality/value
This research is the only one, to the authors’ knowledge, that simultaneously explores organizational processes of KM, CS and OI in local public administration. The sampling procedure and the information from diverse data sources are unique contributions. The conclusions may aid practitioners and scholars in understanding these organizational phenomena in the context of quality-certified and quality non-certified municipalities.
EN 9100 is a quality management system standard for the aerospace industry derived from the ISO 9000 standard. The aerospace industry is economically prominent, both worldwide and in Spain. The goals of this paper are (a) to analyze the motivations of Spanish aerospace firms in adhering to EN 9100 standard and (b) to examine whether the type of motivation affects the results of implementing this standard. To accomplish this, both ANOVA and a simple linear regression model were applied to data from the 122 aerospace industry valid survey responses. The results demonstrate that most firms adhere to EN 9100 in the Spanish aerospace industry due to “external” motivations, such as to increase their institutional legitimacy and reputation. Nevertheless, firms, where “internal” motivations such as to improve their operational execution or organizational processes are predominant, showed superior benefits as a result of implementing the standards. The conclusions of this article may be of interest both for academic and professional spheres of activity.
The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence that the internal and external motivations, as well as other factors can suppose for the appearance of the benefits derived from the adherence to the ISO 9001 Standards. For this, it has been made a research centered in The Spanish construction sector. This sector is of great importance at both the global and Spanish level, and ISO 9001 Standard is widespread in it. A questionnaire was sent to 302 companies that are part of this sector, obtaining 126 valid questionnaires, whose data have been treated using a multiple linear regression model. The results of this model indicate that the type of internal or external motivation to implement such a regulation, as well as the seniority in adhering to it, are significant variables for the achievement of the positive results that can be derived from ISO 9001. However, the size of the company is not significant for the appearance of such results.
Resumo: A certificação ISO 9001 completa 20 anos de existência e é uma das ferramentas utilizadas pelas empresas em busca da vantagem competitiva e da satisfação dos clientes. Esta certificação traz benefícios como a melhoria nos processos, produtos e serviços; melhoria na imagem da empresa (marketing) e satisfação dos clientes. Como objetivo este artigo revisará os últimos dez anos (2003 – 2013) da literatura a respeito da motivação, benefícios, dificuldades e barreiras com a implementação da certificação ISO 900l. Concluiu-se que a certificação ISO 9001 impulsiona melhorias significativas nas organizações tais como: qualidade, reputação da corporação e aumento de vendas. Palavras-chaves: Certificação; Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade; NBR ISO 9001.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the similarities and differences between the benefits derived from implementing the ISO 9001 and the ISO 14001 standards. Methodology/Approach: The paper reviews the literature using an electronic search in the Science Direct, ABI/Inform, Emerald databases to identify papers focusing on the adoption of the ISO 9001 and 14001 standards and the benefits derived from implementing them. Findings: The paper identifies 82 articles about ISO 9001 and 29 about ISO 14001. Although some differences can be observed between the benefits considered by ISO 9001 and 14001, there is a great degree of coincidence in the benefits studied. The review suggests 13 benefits as the most usually analyzed (including environmental performance for the case of the ISO 14001 standard) by scholars. It is suggested that both standards have clear benefits on operational, people and customer results and that the effects on financial performance are inconclusive. Limitations/implications: One limitation of this paper is that the works identified are conditioned by the search strategy used. In addition, other key words could be included in future studies such as operational, market, quality, financial performance, and customer satisfaction in order to expand this search. Originality/Value: The main contribution is that the paper identifies the literature gap and future research proposals with regard to the benefits of the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.
The ISO 9001 Standard is a quality assurance standard for products and services. It is well established in the construction industry, which is one of the major industries worldwide, including in Spain. The objective of this paper was to analyse how adhering to this standard affects results in Spanish construction companies. To this end, a questionnaire was sent to 302 companies in the construction industry, yielding 126 responses. These empirical data imply that obtaining the ISO 9001 certification has positive effects that yield both "internal" and "external" benefits. According to firms, significant internal benefits were improvements to organisational processes. The most frequently mentioned external benefits were commercial aspects, such as better chances of competing in the market.
The ISO 9001 standard for quality management has been implemented by more than 1,000,000 organizations worldwide. It has received a high degree of attention in existing literature. However, findings about the impact of ISO 9001 certification on financial performance are not consistent in the literature; researchers found positive, negative, neutral and sometimes mixed effects. This study examines the relationship between ISO 9001 certification and company performance by means of meta-analysis to answer weather ISO 9001 is positively related to improved performance. The study also examines the existence of moderating factors in the relationship between ISO 9001 and performance. An in-depth analysis of 92 studies shows that the ISO 9001 certification helps companies to increase their income and financial performance. We also conducted subgroup analyses and found that variables such as data collection method, the version of the certification, the role of the respondent in the company, geographic location, sector and the size of the company moderate the relationship between ISO 9001 and financial performance. Discussion of the findings, directions for further development of ISO 9001 research and limitations are presented.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the added value of philosophy in understanding and overcoming resistance to quality control.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper describes a case in which the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd was applied to give advice on a standardisation project within a company. The authors evaluate the project and resistance to it after six years, using the same philosophical approach.
Findings
– Economic goals of quality control were achieved without any substantial employee resistance by addressing non-economic aspects. Apparently, social needs are not necessarily detrimental to economic goals. On the contrary, it is difficult to achieve economic goals if the social aspects are not being addressed.
Research limitations/implications
– Though based on one case study only, the findings suggest that a multi-aspect approach to quality management is very promising.
Practical implications
– The approach is not just a TQM tool but rather a way of addressing various aspects in a systematic and balanced way. Familiarising managers with this approach should help them to balance financial and other aspects without making those other aspects instrumental to achieving financial targets.
Originality/value
– The paper presents a new multi-aspect approach to quality management, based on philosophy in business research. It seems that the value of this approach reaches beyond the area of quality management and can be important to organisation studies in general.
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the diffusion of the UNE 166002 innovation management standard in Spain and to forecast the pattern of a hypothetic future innovation management standard at international level. Using data provided by all of the accredited organizations at the end of 2011 in Spain, the evolution of the diffusion of the UNE 166002 standard since it was created is analysed. In addition, this paper extrapolates the analysis of the diffusion of the Spanish Innovation Management standard to European and international scales. In addition, a comparison of a hypothetic future innovation management standard diffusion with the evolution of the most recognized standards. The results confirm that the diffusion of UNE 166002 follows a logistic S-shaped curve. Moreover, the results show that the extrapolated diffusion of the hypothetic future innovation management standard at a European or an international level, would be approaching 85,000 European certificates and more than 1,200,000 if it was an ISO standard. The findings of this study should be of interest for researchers, institutions and organizations involved with this type of certifications, as well as, these organizations that are currently leading the creation of the future international innovation management standard.
Available from http://publicacoes.apq.pt/diffusion-of-the-une166002-innovation-management-standard-a-forecast-model-approach-towards-internationalization/
Technical specifications may not in themselves guarantee that a customer’s requirements will be consistently met, if there happen to be any deficiencies in the specifications or in the organizational system designed to produce the product or service. It was in this context that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) started its work on quality standardization. Offers an overview of the key concepts underlying the quality management and quality assurance standards that have come to be known as the “ISO 9000 series”. Presents the main themes of the ISO 9000 literature followed by a case study of a large manufacturing organization that has recently achieved the ISO 9000 certification. Explains the eight-step process used by the company to achieve its registration. Although the certification process was lengthy and the documentation extensive, ISO can help the company gain substantial operational and financial benefits.
Purpose
– To assess the relative value of the 2000 version of the ISO 9000 series of quality management system standards in comparison with the 1994 version.
Design/methodology/approach
– A total of 773 organisations in The Netherlands which have all been certified to the ISO 9000 standard were surveyed (a response rate of 21.4 per cent) and of these only 22 had not yet converted to the 2000 version of the standard.
Findings
– Amongst the major findings is an overall positive perception of the value of the ISO 9000 (2000) quality system standard and a consistently higher appreciation of the 2000 version compared with the 1994 version.
Originality/value
– Adds to the body of knowledge concerning the ISO 9000 series with particular focus on The Netherlands and the 2000 version of the standard.
ISO 9000 certification is one of the most popular quality assurance systems in the world. Despite its overwhelming popularity, there is considerable confusion and frustration surrounding the role and business value of ISO 9000 certification. A review of the literature revealed a major gap in research in this area of quality/operations management. The purpose of this study is to test the strength of the relationship between ISO 9000 certification and organisational performance in the presence and absence of a total quality management (TQM) environment. Our analysis is primarily of a large random sample of manufacturing companies in Australia and New Zealand. The central finding is that ISO 9000 certification is not shown to have a significantly positive effect on organisational performance in the presence or absence of a TQM environment. This supports the view that on average ISO 9000 certification has little or no explanatory power of organisational performance.
Extensive survey of managers finds what companies have learned from gaining certification.
This paper aims to establish the benefits which may accrue from the adoption of ISO 9000 standards and to identify further the potential problems associated with the development and maintenance of these standards. The overall objective is to develop an understanding of the most eff ective means of introducing and maintaining a quality management system in ways that will maximize benefits to the organization. The paper first presents a review of the literature which establishes the major reasons for, and the benefits of, the introduction of ISO 9000. This is followed by the results of an Australian survey on the adoption of ISO 9000 standards. This survey is part of larger study investigating the impediments to the adoption of quality management practices in Australian firms. A content analysis to identify strategic business benefits and operational business benefits is then carried out on 50 case studies of Australian businesses which had introduced quality assurance and/or had achieved third-party certification to ISO 9000. The paper concludes with a discussion and recommendations for the implementation of an ISO 9000 system.
This paper examines whether or not small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) can successfully pursue total quality management (TQM) beyond ISO 9000. A review of the literature on quality in small businesses shows that the benefits of ISO 9000 can far outweigh the costs of achieving registrations (even for small businesses) but also emphasizes that ISO 9000 should be viewed as a step towards TQM and not the end of the quality journey. Although many small businesses are benefiting from ISO 9000, an increasing number of small ISO businesses are not progressing towards TQM. To explore the actual impact of quality on small business, a number of small ISO 9000 businesses were surveyed. The main conclusions and recommendations arising from the thesis are that small businesses can benefit from implementing TQM. However, small TQM practitioners need to learn to be more externally focused, i.e. customer focused, to measure the financial impact of TQM on bottom line performance and to use direct methods to measure customer satisfaction.
The paper reports the results of a survey on the benefits from ISO and the impact of motivation and implementation process on the benefits from ISO in Taiwan. The empirical result indicates that adopting ISO brings registered Taiwanese enterprises significantly help in quality improvement, international competitiveness, cost reduction, and sales increase. A regression model is used to test whether motivations and implementation processes determine performances. The effect of motivations and processes on benefits from ISO are also statistically significant. With more positive attitudes, more use of computerized information system, and more involvement of all employees, implementing ISO could give companies more help in enhancing product quality. With more positive and internationalizing attitudes, and more degree of implementing documentation through auditing, implementing ISO could give companies more help in enhancing international competitiveness. With more positive attitudes and more experiences in quality controlling activities before implementing ISO, implementing ISO could give companies more help in cost reduction. With more internationalizing and passive attitudes, and more open organizational culture, implementing ISO could give companies more help in raising sales. And, the effects of a control variable, the percentage of overseas sales, on performances of enhancing international competitiveness and raising sales are statistically significant. These results imply that implementing ISO with total quality management philosophy may prove to bring more benefits for many export-oriented firms in the developing countries.
Utilizes a survey of 272 Australian ISO 9002 quality certified companies to examine two issues: first, the relationship between a company’s initial motivation for seeking certification (QCert) and its perception of the benefits it has received; and, second, the impact of time on perceptions of benefits received. Companies which sought QCert because of an externally-imposed perception of the necessity to “obtain a certificate” were found to experience fewer beneficial outcomes of QCert, in comparison with companies which sought QCert because of an internally-driven desire to improve organizational performance. Additionally, no evidence was found that longer-certified companies experience more benefits than recently-certified companies, regardless of the initial motivation for seeking QCert. Cautions against the drive towards “forcing” companies to seek QCert as a result of a perception of an external threat. Such a process appears to be counterproductive.
This paper is the first of two which seek to further the debate about the role and value of ISO 9000 as a route to TQM. In particular, outlines a framework by which the next phase of a longitudinal study of 115 ISO 9000 registered organizations may be conducted. Shows that very little empirical work has been published which explores this transition beyond ISO 9000 to TQM. Moreover, what literature does exist is divided on the issues, for example on whether or not it is beneficial to obtain ISO 9000 before embarking on TQM, or vice versa. Examines the importance of two aspects of senior executives’ mindset, namely their understanding of ISO 9000 and their motivations for pursuing it. Presents preliminary data which suggest that these two factors may have an important influence on future progress towards TQM, and postulates that the success of organizations already practising TQM will be dependent on their levels of understanding and their differing motivations. The second paper will complete this discussion by dealing with other factors relevant to this transition as raised by other authors and concludes by outlining tangible ways in which an organization can build on ISO 9000 to proceed towards TQM. Factors discussed in these two papers will form the basis of analysis of the next phase of this longitudinal study, which was initiated in 1991.
This paper focuses on the use of the ISO 9000 series certification and the use of self-assessment against an excellence model, as two examples of management fads which have survived for a long period of time. The literature suggests that two variables are related to the perceived success of the implementation of a fad. First, the degree of intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic motivation which is present, and second, the depth of organisational change which is demanded by the implementation. The two fads described in this paper differ in relation to these two variables.
Extends previously published work which discussed a survey of senior executives in 682 organizations and concluded that commitment to ISO 9000 implementation left considerable room for improvement. Reviews the peculiar ISO 9000 implementation difficulties of small organizations as reported in the literature elsewhere. Provides further analysis of the previous survey data, especially the attitudes and behaviours of senior executives, revealing differences in ISO 9000 implementation practice associated with organization size, sector and country of ownership, based loosely on the work of Argyris comparing espoused behaviours with behaviours in use. Small organizations are shown to have particular problems in terms of understanding the purpose of ISO 9000, methods of measuring its business impact, and knowledge of where the potential benefits might lie. While not using consultants any more often, small organizations do permit them to write more of their system documentation. Conversely, small organizations have a greater tendency to subject the whole organization to the scope of the standard, yet they are less likely to go beyond ISO 9000 to TQM. Sectorally, textiles, general manufacturing and engineering show most positive orientation to ISO 9000, with retailing and services least. Concludes that small organizations should assess themselves against these findings to ensure that a comparative lack of resources is not merely an excuse for lack of resolve.
The costs, benefits and implications of BS5750/ISO9000 certification for small and medium-sized firms are investigated on the basis of a review of published literature and a survey of the actual experience of a representative sample of firms. The principle motivation for installing BS5750-based quality systems appears to be customer pressure; retaining existing customers is a key benefit. A minority of firms discover that “internal” benefits, such as greater control and discipline, turn out to be more valuable. Developing and installing a BS5750-based system is a major exercise for small firms but through reductions in quality costs, the costs of certification can typically be recovered within three years of commencing to operate the system. The attitude of the chief executive is a key determinant of effectiveness.
This study reports the results of a survey on the benefits from ISO and the impact of incentive on the benefits from ISO in Taiwan. The empirical result indicates that adopting ISO brings registered Taiwanese plants significant help in enhancing employee productivity, systemization with good documents and data, better quality control, raising competing ability in sales, verifying internal auditing system and clear managerial responsibilities. The effects of incentives on benefits from ISO are also statistically significant. With more positive attitudes, implementing ISO could give companies more help in enhancing employee productivity and clear managerial responsibilities. General lessons can be learned about the ways in which ISO implementation is managed, or should be managed, in developing countries.
Responses from over 500 companies relating to their experiences with ISO 9000 implementation are presented. Companies were categorized according to ownership: US-owned (Type U) and foreign-owned (Type F) manufacturing firms. The results reveal the importance and the dual role of documentation as a critical factor necessary to obtain ISO 9000 registration: (1) as the critical element requiring the highest level of effort in the registration process;and (2)as one of the key potential barriers to successful implementation. Increasing market share is the highest rated reason for achieving ISO 9000 registration. ISO 9000 registered companies expect a high degree of improvement in product design , process design , product quality , communication , and supplier relations. The findings also reveal that there is no significant difference between the two firm ownership types for all variables tested, indicating that the ISO 9000 standards appear universal in applicability.
This paper develops and tests several hypotheses relating to ISO 9000 quality system certification process using data collected in a cross-sectional study undertaken in Australia. Multivariate analysis is used to analyze the quantitative data and test the hypotheses. Our findings show that there is a significant and positive relationship between the manager’s motives for adopting ISO 9000 certification and business performance. Those organizations that pursue certification willingly and positively across a broad spread of objectives are more likely to report improved organizational performance. The individual element found to contribute most to business performance was customer focus. The principal motivation to pursue ISO 9000 certification was found to come from customer pressure. Auditing style was found to have an insignificant (positive or negative) effect on business performance. The ability of the new ISO 9001-2000 standard to capture and meet the conformance and performance requirements of the organization as part of a continuous improvement strategy will be a prime determinant of the extent to which managers embrace or reject ISO 9000 certification in the 21st century.
The ISO 9000 certification process aims to provide a series of worldwide standards for quality systems that could be used for external quality assurance purposes. It is sought and obtained by thousands of businesses seeking to demonstrate that their procedures meet global quality standards. This paper briefly review the registration process and year 2000 changes, review the criticisms of the process, identifies the costs, and documents the pay-offs to companies achieving ISO 9000 certification.
SMEA) Data available online at
- Medium Small
- Enterprise
- Administration
Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA). Data available online at: http://www.moeasea.gov.tw/eng/develop_env/c02.asp (accessed 5 March 2004).