133,421 research outputs found
ISO 9000 Registration's Impact on Sales and Profitability: A Longitudinal Analysis of Performance Before and After Accreditation
No full textThe paper at the time of its publication was the first paper to establish the dominant direction of causality between ISO9000 certification and company performance. Its longitudinal studies event study that found reverse causation has provoked argument in the National Press (Daily Telegraph, 20May & 15 July, 2004) between academics and the British Standards Institute the National ISO 9000 Quality Register on their claims for performance improvement gained from adoption of ISO 9000 Integrated Management Systems.
The paper has been rated as ‘excellent for research implications’ by Anbar/Emerald Reviews.
Contribution. (45%)
Responsible for literature review presentation of results, discussion of findings and conclusions. Co-authors responsible for data collection and data analysis
Attribution Testing: Exposing the Influence of Reverse Causation in the Attribution of Better Performance to ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems
No full textISO 9000 Management Systems adoption (QCert) has proven to be a persistent and
growing phenomenon, yet to date little research has been done that can safely
attribute improved business performance benefits to it. The paper examines the
evidence for the causal links between QCert and improved performance in the
empirical literature. Tests for attribution of performance improvement are
proposed that analyze, effect, cause and effect magnitude and these are
illustrated to show how they influence the interpretation of results. The
attribution testing method is then used to interpret the results of two USA and two
European longitudinal studies and the role of reverse causation is shown to be a
major mechanism that explains the superior performance of the certified firms.
The analyses cast doubt on any inference causality being drawn from the broad
literature that finds an association of ISO 9000 accreditation with better business
performance since it indicates that the strongest direction of causality is that firms
with superior performance are more likely to have certification, not that certified
firms are more likely to have superior performance. The findings have profound
implications for the interpretation of causation in the substantial literature that
shows QCert is associated with improved business performance. For researchers
the paper provides logic for testing the influence of reverse causation on results
and it demonstrates the potential confusion of attribution that can lead to the
development of flawed or incomplete theory
Does ISO 9000 Accreditation Make a Profound Difference to the Way Service Quality is Perceived and Measured?
No full textThe article examines the usage and relative importance of quality measurements in the UK’s largest service companies. The authors analyse the relationship of both internal and customer-based quality measurements to the importance placed on accreditation to an ISO 9000 standard. The effect of process structure is explored by categorising the service firms as being in front-room or back-room dominant service sectors. The authors find that the service firms, which consider accreditation to be important, have a different emphasis on quality than other service firms do. Significantly, their emphasis shifts from one that is in line with their process structure to a more balanced one, where both internal and customer-based quality measurements receive similar attention. This leads them to conclude that accreditation to an ISO 9000 standard can make a profound difference to the way quality is perceived and measured in large service firms
The Impact of the Quality Management System ISO 9000 on Customer Satisfaction of Slovenian Companies
No full textMany companies invest great efforts into achieving appropriate organization and through it better quality of products and services. They try to achieve this in a systematic way following the standard ISO 9000. Implementing ISO is a management decision that requires consideration of company’s operations, strategy, staff and, most importantly, customers. The theoretical part of the research is focused on literature review. Second part-empirical research has been done on the basis of structured questionnaires gathered from 212 responses of Slovenian companies that had already acquired the ISO 9000 quality standard certificate by 2002. We have posed eight questions about the impact of the ISO 9000 on customer satisfaction. The research results in Slovenian companies confirm the ISO 9000 quality standard’s impact on better satisfying customers’ needs and demands, but not the direct impact on business success. This paper also presents a very useful source of solutions and information for managers and researchers in the field of quality systems and customer satisfaction. Additionally, it comprises an short overview of customer relationship management (CRM) as a system that companies can use for monitoring and satisfying the needs of a customer during any given interaction.ISO 9000, quality management systems, customer satisfaction, customer relationship management, marketing
Is ISO 14001 a Gateway to More Advanced Voluntary Action? A Case for Green Supply Chain Management
No full textUsing Japanese facility-level data, we estimate the effects of ISO 14001 certification on the promotion of more advanced practices, namely green supply chain management (GSCM). Our results show that ISO 14001 promotes GSCM practices, in that facilities with environmental management systems (EMS) certified to ISO 14001 are 40 percent more likely to assess their suppliers’ environmental performance and 50 percent more likely to require that their suppliers undertake specific environmental practices. Further, we find that government approaches that encourage voluntary EMS adoption indirectly promote GSCM practices, in that the probability of facilities’ assessing their suppliers’ environmental performance and requiring them to undertake specific environmental practices increases by 9 percent and 10 percent, respectively, if a government assistance program exists. Combined, these findings suggest that there may be significant but previously unnoticed spillover effects of ISO 14001 and government promotion of voluntary action.voluntary actions, positive spillover, environmental management systems, ISO 14001, green supply chain management, government assistance programs, environmental impacts, discrete choice model, endogeneity
Cause of Effect? ISO 14001 Certification and Financial Benefits
No full textThe paper analyses the relationship between ISO 14001 certification and financial performance with the aim of understanding the causal influence of selection and treatment effects. The empirical data was collected from a sample of 268 certified firms and 7,232 non-certified firms in Spain between 2000 and 2005. Using a longitudinal methodology that measures the financial performance of the firms before and after certification, the paper finds the differences in performance between certified companies and non-certified firms prior to certification are greater than the differences that exist in the years following certification. Although the performance of certified companies is superior to that of non-certified firms, there is no evidence of improved performance after registration in the certified firms studied. The authors conclude that the superior performance found in certified firms is due to firms with superior performance having a greater propensity to pursue ISO 14001 registrations. The findings suggest that zealous inference of environmental variables being the cause of improved in financial performance may be unwise, as this better performance may be due to selection-effects rather than treatment-effects
Beyond certification: The maintenance of ISO 9000 in Malaysian service organisations
No full textThis research is an in-depth study of the quality management systems of two Malaysian "government-linked companies" (GLCs) classified as being in the service industry. Both are mature holders of ISO 9000 certification and the research focuses on how they have gone about maintaining and improving their quality management system (QMS), the extent to which they have succeeded, and what management and employees of the companies feel have been critical success factors and problems to be overcome. A case study approach is used for this study. The study has been comprehensive in its data collection with 30 individual face-to-face interviews with top management, middle management, lower management in charge of operations and quality, the management representative responsible for the implementation of ISO 9000 in the case companies being conducted, 300 questionnaires being distributed to employees of both companies, and a thorough review of ISO 9000 and other quality documents carried out. The results of the study showed that the two companies maintain their ISO 9000 based on the requirements of the standard. However, to support the technical requirements and in order to maintain the quality system more effectively and strive for excellence, the study highlights the need for integrating the human resource aspects of quality management into the quality system. Critical success factors of ISO 9000 maintenance identified are top management commitment, employee involvement, recognition and reward, teamwork, continuous improvement, and quality culture. The main problems associated with maintaining ISO 9000 faced by the companies are lack of cooperation and commitment from people, lack of knowledge and training, lack of communication, and lack of awareness and understanding on ISO 9000. Measures outlined to overcome the problems include closer interaction between people, training of management and employee on ISO 9000 and related subjects, skill and competency, and better communication. The study has identified lessons to be drawn by similar companies facing similar challenges and those striving for excellence. It has provided insights into the improvements and changes brought by the continued maintenance of the ISO 9000 after certification. It has also added to the knowledge on aspects of organisational development for service companies and casting new light on various theories put forward in the quality management literature. Further, the development of a framework for effective ISO 9000 maintenance in service organisations will enable it to be tested and compared with other industry frameworks in future studies
An Analysis of the Main Drivers for ISO 9001 and other Isomorphic Metastandards
No full textResearch on the adoption of metastandards (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, SA 8000) has used a variety of theoretical perspectives to identify the main driving forces or motivations. While the majority of existing studies on this subject are of an empirical character with little development of a theoretical framework, there are nonetheless a certain number of noteworthy studies undertaken in the context of a clear and consistent conceptual and theoretical framework, on the basis of which various working hypotheses may be assessed and compared. In this article the main theoretical perspectives for the analysis of the motivations for the adoption of metastandards are reviewed. Furthermore, a short review of the empirical literature dealing with the drivers for ISO 9001, the most promiment metastandard, is carried out, in order to shed light on this issue for both the researchers and practitioners interested in this management tool.international standards; standardization; metastandards; ISO 9001; motivations.
ISO 14001 certification and financial performance: selection-effect versus treatment-effect
No full textAbstract: The paper explores the bi-directional relationship between ISO 14001 certification and financial performance with the aim of shedding light on whether better performance is due to the beneficial effects of ISO 14001 or due to selection-effects where better performance precedes accreditation. The study uses a five year longitudinal analysis to compare the financial performance of firms in Spain before and after certification. The results of a multivariate panel data analysis find that firms with better than average performance have a greater propensity to pursue accreditation but there is no evidence that improvements in performance follow certification. This suggests that a zealous inference of environmental variables being the cause of improved financial performance may be unwise in research studies that can only measure association
The financial impact of ISO 9000 certification in the United States: an empirical analysis.
No full textThe ISO 9000 series of quality management systems standards, introduced in 1986, has been adopted at over 560,000 locations worldwide. Anecdotal evidence suggests that firms can achieve internal benefits such as quality or productivity improvements or that certification can help firms maintain or increase their market share, or both. Others argue that the standard is too generic to cause performance improvement but can be seen as a signal of good management. In this paper, we track financial performance from 1987 to 1997 of all publicly traded ISO 9000 certified manufacturing firms in the United States with SIC codes 2000–3999, and test whether ISO 9000 certification leads to productivity improvements, market benefits, and improved financial performance. We employ event-study methods, matching each certified firm to a control group of one or more noncertified firms in the same industry with similar precertification size and/or return on assets. We find that firms’ decision to seek their first ISO 9000 certification was indeed followed by significant abnormal improvements in financial performance, though the exact timing and magnitude of this effect depend on the specification of the control group. Three years after certification, the certified firms do display strongly significant abnormal performance under all control-group specifications. The degree to which the precise results vary across control-group specifications indicates that event studies should always include extensive sensitivity analysis, for instance matching by size and performance separately and jointly, using both single firms and portfolios as controls.ISO 9000; Quality management; Standards; Financial; Empirical; Event study; Compustat;
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