Management systems: integration or addition?

Examining the link between integrated management systems and firm performance: do the integration strategies matter?

Purpose

This study attempts to examine the performance differences between firms with and without integrated management systems (IMSs), and the impact of three integration strategies (i.e. implementing quality management system (QMS) first, then environmental management system (EMS) (QMS + EMS); implementing EMS first, then QMS (EMS + QMS); implementing QMS and EMS simultaneously (QMS − EMS)) on firm performance to reveal the IMS–performance relationship and provide empirical evidence.

Design/methodology/approach

Two panel datasets were collected during 2009–2019. This study used the Mann–Whitney non-parametric test and a sample of 33,155 observations from 4,316 Chinese listed firms to compare the performance differences between the IMS and non-IMS groups through performance indicators. This study also examined the effects of three integration strategies on firm performance using a cross-sectional time-series feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) regression model and a sample of 11,289 observations from 2,037 firms.

Findings

The results show that significant performance differences exist between IMS and non-IMS firms; however, the performance of firms with an IMS is not always better than that of firms without IMS. Furthermore, the simultaneous integration strategy has a positive impact, whereas sequential integration strategies (QMS + EMS and EMS + QMS) negatively affect firm performance. Compared with the EMS + QMS strategies, the QMS + EMS strategies have a more prominent effect on firm performance. Simultaneous strategies are more effective than sequential strategies.

Practical implications

Firms should fully consider the potential benefits and costs associated with the difficulties of IMS implementation and the implementation order of different management systems and the potential effects of the management systems in different conditions. Firms also should try to develop internal capabilities through implementing different integration strategies.

Originality/value

By comparing performance differences between firms with and without IMS, this study enriches the understanding of the performance benefits of IMS implementation in the Chinese context. By examining the impact of integration strategies that follow different sequences on firm performance, this study promotes an in-depth understanding of the integration strategies and their performance implications beyond simple descriptions and also provides new insights into operations strategy models.

Cluster Modeling of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems for Integration Support

Many organizations around the world recognize the complementarity of public and environmental health and focus their attention on the effective management of both health and environmental risks. For this purpose, they often use the international standards ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. However, when a company intends to implement multiple standards simultaneously, the challenge of overlapping increases. Therefore, the objective of article is to analyze the requirements and documented information of two management system standards: environmental management systems (EMS), according to ISO 14001, and occupational health and safety management systems (OH&S), according to ISO 45001. A combination of content analysis and clustering methods was used to conduct the research. Visualization of the interrelationships between the requirements of the standards was done using TouchGraph Navigator. The outputs of the analysis can serve managers in the integrated implementation of these management systems as well as auditors during the review and check process when formulating recommendations for the improvement of management systems. Integrated implementation comes with multiple benefits, including reduced bureaucracy and management costs, a simplified certification process, improved internal management, and facilitation of continuous improvement.

The Identification of Common Models Applied for the Integration of Management Systems: A Review

The paper presents a synthesis of strategies, benefits, and barriers in the integration management systems (IMS) implementation at the organizational level. The research is based on an assessment of 103 papers, 7 books, 12 standards, and 7 sites. The analysis of works aims to highlight the common integration models of several IMS, aspects related to IMS implementation, benefits of IMS implementations, and the nature of integration strategies. The research results present valuable information which can be used by top managers of organizations, certification bodies, and consulting organizations to encourage the implementation of integrated management systems.

Project management performance of construction projects in Jordan: a comparative study of ISO 9001-certified and non-certified companies

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the differences between the certified and non-certified ISO 9001 construction companies in terms of construction projects' performance in Jordan.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaires were distributed to certified and non-certified construction organizations. These entities consist of contractor's consultants and owner representative organizations. In total, 86 valid responses were returned. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) using descriptive statistic tests, namely, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Findings

The results clearly showed the positive effects of ISO 9001 certification on construction projects' performance in project management performance and project success. ISO-certified organizations have higher mean score in project management leadership, staff, policies, project life cycle and key performance indicators (KPIs) but not in partnership. Moreover, an ISO-certified organization shows higher project success.

Originality/value

Due to the dearth of research conducted in this area, this research highlights the management procedures, which impact the leading entities' performance in the construction field within Jordan.

Environmental effects of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management system implementation in SSCM

Purpose

Comprehensive management systems such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 are designed to help organizations improve processes, ensure customer satisfaction, efficient information flow, efficient use of resources and many other prosperous management areas. These systems can also bring unintended direct and indirect effects on organizations. In this study, the authors examine the environmental effects that the implementation of these management systems cause.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey-based methodology was used for this study, with textile organizations in three countries – Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The research focused on four areas related to environmental effects. The first area was the level of improvement of the organizations' environmental performance, which was examined by the methods of descriptive statistics. The second area was analyzing differences in environmental effects concerning the implementation of the systems using inferential statistics. The third area was the analysis of latent links between individual effects using factor analysis.

Findings

This study's insights shed some light on the benefits of implementing more, not fewer systems with benefits to organizations and entire industries with new possibilities for economic growth that do not have to come at the expense of the environment.

Originality/value

Organizations implementing management systems can realize dynamic benefits across a supply chain and within a manufacturing organization. Here the authors see an opportunity for ISO systems as a stepping stone to a more sustainable textile manufacturing economy.

Integrated Financial Management Information System Project Implementation in Ghana Government Ministries

This study investigates the factors impeding successful implementation of integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) project in Ghana. When successfully implemented, IFMIS can bring about a reform in the country's financial management by reduce corruption and financial mismanagement. The study uses stratified and purposeful sampling methods and a questionnaire to collect from 346 employees in selected government departments. The study employs descriptive statistics to both assess IFMIS effectiveness and the effect of information and communications technology (ICT) competency in IFMIS implementation. Moreover, multiple regression analysis is used to determine the extent of top management support on IFMIS implementation success. The findings reveal that IFMIS is an effective tool in public financial management; however, the lack of ICT competency and top management support systems are the major factors required for a successful implementation of IFMIS. Recommendations are made to reduce the challenges associated with IFMIS implementation.

Analyzing time pressure for software economics

Purpose

The research on people and project factors is found extensively in general but not specific to software engineering. Secondly, the existing research has not concentrated on the communication and time complexity of the teams on software economics. The purpose this paper is to develop a model to investigate and quantify the impact of time pressure (TP) on software economics through the communication influence of software team sizes (TS).

Design/methodology/approach

A research model and five hypotheses are developed based on the gaps in the literature. The data set from International Software Benchmarking Standards Group repository is used for testing the hypotheses.

Findings

Important findings include: smaller TS tends to exert less TP on average; TP is directly proportional to software economics, however; and TP does not affect the productivity required for the software.

Research limitations/implications

The study has the following implications: Selection of an appropriate TS for project completion that ensures minimum pressure on team members; and maximize software outcomes in stress-free environment.

Practical implications

This work is useful for organizations carrying out software projects with teamwork. The project managers can benefit from the results while planning the team factors for achieving the project goals.

Social implications

The results uphold not to exert pressure on the team as it will not only affect the duly completion of the project but also the well-being of employees.

Originality/value

The paper is the first one where the proposition of TP estimation is done using TS and communication complexity, and empirically evaluating the impact of TP on four major software economics are the major key contributions of this research work.

Communication of commitment towards sustainable development of certified Portuguese organisations

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it aims at the identification and assessment of the commitments towards sustainable development (SD) communicated to all interested parties (stakeholders) by top management; and second, mapping the profile of the organisations which prominently communicate those commitments.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology was supported on the content analysis of the organisations’ statements (disclosed on the institutional website) that sustain the strategy and policies (organisational culture). A total of 540 certified Portuguese organisations in Quality, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety (QEOHS) comprised the sample.

Findings

According to this research, it is possible to identify three main commitments towards SD addressing customers (consumers), human resources (employees) and continuous improvement. Furthermore, results suggest that commitments towards customers and human resources fit properly into the theoretical assumptions of the stakeholder theory and, in turn, the commitment towards continuous improvement fits accurately into the assumptions of the “normative isomorphism” of the institutional theory. Moreover, the results pointed out the characteristics of Portuguese organisations (QEOHS) that prominently communicate commitments towards SD: large business volume, located in Lisbon or Setubal, fall within the public business sector, are members of the BCSD Portugal and publish annual reports on the institutional website.

Research limitations/implications

Solely organisations operating in Portugal and simultaneously encompassing three certified management subsystems (against the clauses of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards) were considered throughout this study. So it is not possible to ascertain at which extent the conclusions are valid. However, although the statistical generalisation of the results may be precluded, there is not any peculiar reason preventing the analytical generalisation, namely, in organisations operating in countries with similar macro-characteristics of Portugal.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge this is the first time that such a comprehensive, detailed and thorough analysis of the communicated commitments towards SD is carried out regardless the activity sector. The conclusions from this paper are useful both for practitioners and scholars. On one hand companies have now information on the more often communicated statements, while on the other hand academics and scholars will benefit from this research and hopefully be able to replicate it in other contexts.

Selective integration of management systems: a case study in the construction industry

Purpose

Despite the widely recognized benefits of integrating management systems, many multi-certified organizations continue to implement two or more systems separately. This can happen either through ignorance or by deliberate intent. Focusing on the second reason, the purpose of this paper is to examine a number of factors that can lead an organization to consciously choose not to integrate all of its management systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a case study of a construction company that has integrated the environmental management system and the occupational health and safety management system – which implies that the company is familiar with the practice of integration – while choosing to implement the quality management system separately from the other two.

Findings

The findings of this study show that the reasons that led the company not to integrate all of its systems are not so much related to the compatibility of these systems, but are much deeper and have implications that touch upon its basic principles and values. Despite the occurrence of some organizational and operational problems (such as complexity of administrative issues and bureaucracy), the separate implementation of the systems allowed the company to preserve both the balance between the powers of its executives and the ability to attach special importance to each area: quality, environment, health and safety.

Originality/value

This study will be useful in order to understand that selective integration of management systems is based on the belief that integration is not ade factodesirable goal, especially when the estimated cost-benefit ratio of non-integration is better than that of integration.

Integrated management systems diffusion models in South European countries

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to dissect the diffusion of the number of organizations that implemented multiple management systems (MSs), considering the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards (quality, environment and safety) in the South European countries: Italy, Portugal and Spain. In addition, based on the data collected, forecasting models were developed to assess at which extent the multiple certifications are expected to occur in each studied country.

Design/methodology/approach

Data concerning the evolution of the amount of multiple MSs in Italy, Portugal and Spain were collected for the period between 1999 and 2015. The behavior of the evolution of the number of MSs over the years was studied adopting both the Gompertz and the Logistic models. The results obtained with these two models were compared and analyzed to provide a forecast for the next years.

Findings

The diffusion throughout the years of the number of MSs presents an S-shaped behavior. The evolution of the amount of MSs in countries with a lower saturation level are properly fitted by the Gompertz model whereas the Logistic model fits more accurately when considering countries with a larger saturation level.

Research limitations/implications

The data related to the early years are not available in some of the countries. To overcome this shortcoming missing data were extrapolated from the data set provided by the annual ISO survey. Additionally, the integration level attained by each company was not assessed and, on this regard and in the scope of this paper, an integrated management system is understood as implemented when organizations have multiple MSs implemented.

Practical implications

The results provide a cross-sectional portrayal of the diffusion of MSs certifications in the South European countries and enable a forecast for the trend in the next years.

Originality/value

This study aims for the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to analyze the diffusion of multiple MSs throughout the years.

Seeing the Immaterial: A New Instrument for Evaluating Integrated Management Systems’ Maturity

Integrated management systems (IMSs) can already be considered a proven tool to help companies cope with the challenges associated with staying competitive in the face of dynamic stakeholder requirements. The present paper proposes a new instrument designed to evaluate and communicate the maturity achieved by an integrated management system (IMS) for responding properly to the requirements of its reference standards in a consolidated manner. The approach mainly aims to highlight the level of integration achieved on common requirements of the component standards and to determine the extent to which they work together as a whole. At the same time, it is useful to identify the needs for improvement in the system as a whole or in its sub-systems. The proposed methodology uses the transmutation in the RGB color space (red–green–blue) of the process audits’ results achieved under each standard, followed by the analysis of the IMS characteristics, with tools specific to the color space, based on the affinities between the two domains. To sustain the thoroughness of this approach, a case study of an integrated system for an industrial company is presented, analyzing the situation from two different evolution stages of the IMS. The approach is presented as a proof-of-concept, without large scale validation.

Management systems integration: survey results

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the results from a survey carried out among Portuguese companies with their management systems (MSs) certified according to, at least two of the following standards: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. In addition, the results from a second survey conducted amid a group of experts that pointed out several aspects that impact on the integration level will be dissected.

Design/methodology/approach

The phenomenon of MSs integration is hardly transferable to a contained environment so some of the common research methods traditionally adopted include case studies, surveys, interviews and observation in situ. The findings from two surveys online among Portuguese companies and Portuguese experts are reported in the current paper.

Findings

The results suggest that a set of common characteristics is present on the majority of the surveyed companies. On first hand, there is evidence of an effective integration of the policies and the existence of an integrated system manager on the organizational structure of the companies. On the other hand, results suggest that training was provided to top management concerning integration issues, an integrating concept was taken into account during the implementation process and tools, and methods and objectives of the subsystems are aligned.

Research limitations/implications

This paper addresses the issues raised in the mainstream scientific bibliography through the collection of information amidst Portuguese companies. At this stage, it is not possible to infer at which extent the conclusions may be transferable to other geographic contexts. The small number of companies that completed the survey precludes the statistical generalization of the findings but the analytical generalization is not impaired.

Originality/value

The authors believe that the conclusions of this paper may aid both practioneers and scholars in the understanding of a complex but manageable organizational phenomenon. In addition, through the contents of this paper companies may collect information regarding the pertinent issues to address when developing their IMSs.

Integrated management systems – interpretations, results, opportunities

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study how the expression “integrated management systems” is interpreted in literature, what it means to have an integrated management system (IMS) and what the results of this are.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was conducted based on Scopus using the search term “Integrated Management Systems.” In the chosen articles, effects of integration, scope, level and extent of integration and if the approach is inside-out or outside-in, have been analyzed.

Findings

Most articles on IMS conclude that integration is beneficial regarding cost saving, operational benefits and improved customer satisfaction. The general approach in the articles, describes an inside-out approach with focus on integrating existing management standards. The scope of integration covers typically management systems for quality, environment and occupational health and safety.

Practical implications

An IMS is found to be a system that integrates existing management standards based on an inside-out approach. This indicates possibilities for both practical improvement and research in exploring how integrated stakeholder needs could be managed, possibly as process-based IMSs.

Originality/value

This paper sheds light on the ambiguous interpretation of the IMS concept.

The integration of standardized management systems: managing business risk

Purpose

Protecting business value is regarded to be the cornerstone of any organization. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and explore the potential contributions of the integration of standardized management systems (MSs) into an integrated MS. This will support a better coordinated management of different kinds of risks that exist in organizational processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings are based on literature as well as empirical case studies conducted by the authors. It focuses on the potential results of integration of MSs.

Findings

It is found that the integration of MSs leads to a more coherent, extensive, consistent, and harmonized process of identification of hazards. Also, it is found that from integration also results in the minimization of associated risks that affect key aspects of business, considering the organizational context vs requirements of each relevant stakeholder, as defined in related management systems standards.

Research limitations/implications

This research, investigate the risk management (RM) and the integration of MSs from existing research papers about empirical studies for the period 2000-2014, including case studies in which the authors are involved. The number of enterprises can be larger.

Originality/value

Although there is some research regarding RM in organizations related to isolated implementations of MSs, this paper stands in a different perspective, since it addresses the issues emerging from the integration of standardized MSs in a broader perspective.

Food integrated management systems: dairy industry insights

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the management systems integration from both sector and size perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

Extant literature is reviewed focussing on food-related management topics. A single case is used to delve into the understanding of integrated management systems (IMSs) using the contingency approach. Data are drawn from documents and archives, on-site observations and by interviewing employees of all hierarchy levels.

Findings

This case shows how size and sector-related constraints may condition integration in terms of IMS scope, strategy, level, audits, resources, motives, benefits and difficulties. Traceability is identified as an integration “catalyst” for multiple MSs in food companies. It is further discussed, how an environmental management system would be embedded within the existing integrated structure.

Research limitations/implications

Conclusions bring to light the sustained business leverage provided by food IMSs. Thus, food industry managers are driven to streamline the quality, food safety and environmental processes following an IMS approach. Future research on multiple cases of different size would reflect a wider IMS sector-specific perspective. Research on other sectors is expected to provide different particular aspects of integration, as well.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first in-depth study on the adoption of an integrated generic and sector-specific MS from the contingency perspective. The case visualizes the contribution of integration when addressing the critical food safety and quality operations and the significant environmental aspects.

The order and level of management standards implementation

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the order of management system standards (MSSs) implementation in an organization and its level of integration are changed during the time of the standard implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey was send to 885 organizations located in Poland which registered at least two MSSs selected from popular international standards, e.g.: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 22000 or other international management standard. There were 81 valid questioners obtained. Studied organizations where classify into a three different groups with similar level of MS integration.

Findings

– Different standards can be implemented simultaneously, and this tendency is more popular nowadays than few years ago. In most cases time of implementation of MSSs in second and further round of implementation is shorter than during the implementation of first standards. The group of organizations with a higher level of MSSs integration is the group where the integrated systems operates for a shorter period of time, than in the other groups. While in a group of organizations where MSSs are on the lowest level of integration, the average period of time of MSS operating is the longest.

Originality/value

– The paper analyses order and time of systems implementation that allow organizations to achieve higher levels of integration and presents a possible pattern for the companies initiating the integration process.