The impact of ISO 9001 effectiveness on the performance of service companies

Lessons learned from quality management system ISO 9001:2015 certification: practices and barrier identification from Brazilian industrial companies

Purpose

This study used a qualitative approach on five case studies in Brazilian industrial companies. The research used interviews, document analysis and on-site visits to collect and analyze data. The companies were selected based on the following criteria: operating in the industrial sector, updating their quality management system (QMS) process to ISO 9001: 2015 and agreeing to participate in this study.

Design/methodology/approach

This article aims to investigate the strategies of industrial companies adopted for ISO-9001:2015 certification in light of the six major advances concerning the previous version. Thus, QMS of other organizations can incorporate identified lessons learned, whether certified or not.

Findings

The main finding of the research is the systematization of a set of lessons learned in the experiences of implementing the six significant advances of ISO 9001 concerning the previous version by industrial companies in the State of São Paulo in Brazil. These lessons can and should be used by other organizations to improve their QMSs.

Practical implications

The practices identified in this empirical research can serve as benchmarking to assist quality managers from other companies in QMS certification based on ISO 9001: 2015 or even those not certified but interested in updating their QMSs. Therefore, lessons learned can significantly minimize efforts to improve your projects, processes, products and services. These findings can also help industrial companies improve their production efficiency and effectiveness through quality improvement.

Originality/value

The main novelty of the research is the consolidation of theoretical and practical analysis of the main changes in the latest version of the ISO 9001 standards. The efforts to fulfill those changes result in lessons learned. The “lessons learned” will form a new block of knowledge that will subsidize theoretical (new research) and practical (formulation of a new ISO 9001 standard and helps quality managers improve their systems).

Stock price reaction on ISO 9001 certification announcement: evidence from Indonesia

Purpose

Certification information published by a company will be responded by the market. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of ISO 9001 certification on the stock market reaction as indicated by stock returns reaction of companies in Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used event study method with the period of 13 days. It consists of 6 days before and after ISO 9001 certification announcement and 1 day at the time of the event. It analyzed by using pair sample t-test and one sample t-test. The stock return data is obtained from companies that are ISO 9001 certified and it tested for their stock reactions before and after the certification.

Findings

The results of empirical research showed that the average and companies cumulative abnormal returns in Indonesia react quickly and positively on the first day after ISO 9001 certification announcement. This study proved the differences between abnormal returns before and after the ISO 9001 certification announcement period.

Research limitations/implications

The company's success in implementing ISO 9001 will have an impact on investment in the capital market with a positive response from stock market players. The implication of this study is the further research can examine directly the impact of ISO 9001 implementation on investor behavior in the capital market.

Originality/value

Based on the development of the literature review, this is the first study which examined the impact of ISO 9001 certification announcement on investor reactions in the short term. Therefore, companies in Indonesia need to implement a quality management system for investors in Indonesia.

Improving the Strategic Benchmarking of Intellectual Capital Management in Logistics Service Providers

This research developed a new integrated method for addressing the deficiencies and gaps generally found in past studies on benchmarking and for benchmarking intellectual capital (IC) in the underdeveloped domain of logistics. To resolve the lack of consideration of relationships among past benchmarking concepts and the impacts of their managerial factors, as well as to examine the wide range of elements and indicators of IC influencing the sustainable development of organizations, the proposed approach integrated the analytic network process and the concept of thinking and non-thinking assets with the generic benchmarking procedure. This new hybrid method was implemented in four commercial companies in courier service. The proposed method prioritized and identified the magnitudes of the factors focused upon, including the IC elements, and their performance measures by considering the fundamental characteristics of intangible assets. The obtained results highlight that management focuses on the IC of the best performer and other companies. This benchmarked outcome showed gaps and improvement as well as sustainable development opportunities for inferior logistics companies. The improved framework provides more systematic and specific benchmarking processes to consider, obtain, and compare the in-depth details of IC management. Moreover, ours is the first research on benchmarking that specifically focused on IC management in logistics service providers.

Integrating the HACCP and SPC for hazard control and process improvement: a case of pharmaceutical industry

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to integrate two well-established frameworks with an aim to reduce the unwanted rejection rate recurring in the drug production process in pharmaceutical industries. The effectiveness of an integrated framework has been demonstrated by a real-time case study in a complex industrial environment, providing a platform for quality tools application in the pharmaceutical industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) provided a basic framework for hazard analysis and its blending with statistical process control (SPC) aided in data-driven decision-making. The extensive brainstorming and Pareto analysis helped to identify potential critical-to-quality characteristics followed by SPC, x¯ and R charts, histograms and Cp and Cpk analysis to spot the critical control point. The fishbone diagram led to the extraction of the leading cause behind the identified problem. Then, based on recommended corrective actions, control limits were adjusted and the process was brought into control. Finally, a product-based cost analysis is also performed to illustrate the financial impact resulting from the proposed method’s successful implementation.

Findings

The integrated framework is applied to a drug production process which has a higher rejection rate (3%) because of the non-conformities. Based on Pareto analysis, potential failure causes were classified and prioritised as inappropriate composition (2.54%), packaging (0.35%), out-of-specification (0.069%), equipment failure (0.022%), input materials (0.018%) and miscellaneous (0.002%). It is found that 84% of the total rejection rate is contributed by inappropriate composition. After taking corrective actions, it is observed that the proposed method has helped to reduce the process rejection rate significantly (2.54-0.82%). In the monetary terms, 2.50% decline per unit costs is noted in this case study work. The proposed integrated framework’s success is further motivating other pharmaceutical industries to implement and expand it to other processes.

Originality/value

The case study is an attempt to contribute to the existing literature of quality management in pharmaceutical industries. In particular, it is a novel example to introduce the simple and user-friendly SPC tool into well-established HACCP framework to enhance its effectiveness in hazard identification. The case study results motivate managers to adopt quality techniques for achieving a higher quality standard and operational excellence.

Standardized management systems and risk management in the supply chain

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of standardized management systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and ISO 28000) on minimizing selected aspects of risk in the supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was used to explore this topic. Respondents were divided into two group regarding organization type – logistic service providers and focal companies. Basic data analysis was based on descriptive statistics and on analysis of variance with organization type as a stratification factor. Deeper data analysis was based on factor analysis with principal component analysis and varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization.

Findings

Research shows that standardized management systems turn out to be useful in supply chain risk management (SCRM) regardless of the role that the organization plays in the supply chain. However, the strength of their positive impact varies. There were few respondents among logistic operators who were low in assessing the legitimacy of implementing standardized management systems in the examined context. Having this in mind, especially representatives of logistic operators with a limited budget should consider making the decision to implement standardized management systems.

Practical implications

The obtained research results may be helpful for managers who consider to implement standardized management systems in the context of using obtain guidelines to develop procedures to improve supply chain management and ensure the repeatability of ongoing processes.

Originality/value

Although the number of studies on the SCRM increases, it is worth noting that in the literature there is still a lack of research and studies addressing the impact of standardized management systems on SCRM (especially from the perspective of organizations with various functions in supply chains such as focal companies and logistic service providers). Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive research in this area. According to the authors, the study carried out, at least to some extent, will fill this gap.

Factors for improving performance in ISO 9001 certified small- and medium-sized service enterprises

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that are important for improving the performance of ISO 9001 certified small- and medium-sized service enterprises (SMSEs).

Design/methodology/approach

Preliminary research questions were set on the basis of a literature review and then submitted to a Delphi panel of experts. The results from the Delphi panel were transformed into hypotheses in the form of a survey. A sample comprising 115 Italian SMSEs answered the survey, which also included specific fields for qualitative notes. The hypothesis tests used 95% confidence intervals, and notes and suggestions from the respondents were also collected.

Findings

The findings relate to the role and responsibilities of the quality manager, as well the entrepreneur and partners, the quality of the enterprise culture, training, awareness concerning process key performance indicators, visual management and modern digitised documentation and communication. Furthermore, criticisms emerged regarding the ISO 9001 standard in terms of cost of quality measurement, day-to-day improvement and problem-solving.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited to SMSEs. The limitations of this research open avenues for further research. In particular, many suggestions from the respondents seem generalisable to other industries and also to large manufacturing firms.

Practical implications

The findings of this research could be used as a guideline for implementing ISO 9001 in the SMSE sector. Moreover, some of the criticisms could be taken into account for the next revision of the ISO 9001 standard.

Originality/value

This is one of the first papers to discuss important factors for improving the performance of ISO 9001 in the SMSE sector.

A longitudinal exploratory study of ISO 9001 certification abandonment in small- and medium-sized enterprises

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the expectations for ISO 9001 certification in a group of small- and medium-sized enterprises, then to assess the reasons for their subsequent abandonment of the certification and the long-term impacts of that decision.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study come from longitudinal case studies involving a series of questionnaires, in-depth on-site interviews and informal conversations with top managers of 22 firms in the heating technology service industry in Poland. The research process was conducted in three stages. The first stage occurred in the Summer of 2008 in which a broad analysis was conducted of the impact of ISO 9001 certification on the functioning of the organizations. The second stage was conducted in 2012, to gather the information about the organizations that subsequently abandoned their ISO 9001 certification. The third stage was carried out in 2016 to examine the longer-term impact of ISO 9001 certification abandonment in these organizations.

Findings

The main motivation for study participants obtaining ISO 9001 certification centred around market visibility and gaining new customers rather than on lowering operating costs or improving quality. Managers also expected certification to improve organization documentation. The decision to abandon certification had to do with lack of time for improvement efforts and questionable cost-benefit that could lead to higher prices. Certification was considered unnecessary to achieve the goals of the organization. In retrospect, only a small percentage (20 per cent) of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the sample group felt that abandoning ISO 9001 certification was largely the correct decision. A majority (53 per cent) thought it was largely a regrettable decision.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on a limited number of case studies for smaller organizations in one purchasing group in industry rather than on a large cross-section of different organizations sizes and types. Therefore, the ability to draw statistical inferences is limited and the results may not generalize to other settings. However, this appears to be one of the few studies of its kind on voluntary abandonment of the certification.

Practical implications

It is important for business managers to understand not only the reasons supporting initial certification, but the rationale that organizations cite for abandonment of the certification and the long-term impacts of that decision.

Originality/value

A study of voluntary ISO 9001 certification abandonment appears to be relatively absent in the literature. This research opens a new area of research into the assessment of potential consequences of abandoning the certification.

Sustaining ISO 9001-based QMS in higher education: a reality?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how a large public university sustains its ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) for the past 20 years. At the same time, this paper also provides a snapshot on the problems and challenges faced and overcame by the university in its quality journey.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a case study and therefore it describes interventions and experiences within the university as the subject understudy.

Findings

There are four main phases of QMS that the university has undergone, namely, initiation, internalisation, alignment and improvement in the last 20 years. Critical success factors for implementing and maintaining the QMS are commitment from people, training and good communication. Some of the problems and challenges encountered have included a lack of knowledge and understanding of the processes and standards, lack of relevant skills, lack of commitment and cooperation from people, lack of resources and poor communication.

Originality/value

This paper provides insights into the world of QMS’s sustainability in a large public university that will be useful as a guide for academic managers and administrators. It also presents the issues of transitioning from the previous to the current standard experienced by the university which has not been discussed by many.

Quality management as a determinant factor of productivity

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to analyse the current state of the literature on the relationship between quality management (QM) and productivity as a performance indicator; second, to identify the key constructs of QM practices related to productivity; and, finally, to reveal whether QM can actually be regarded as a determinant of productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was carried out through a systematic literature review, considering 150 papers that studied this relationship between 1997 and 2017 and another 37 papers on the internal determinants of productivity.

Findings

The findings revealed that human resource management, top management and process management were the more relevant constructs of QM practices related to productivity. In addition, 89 per cent of the internal determinants of productivity were related to the proposed constructs of QM practices, which suggest that QM is a determinant factor of productivity.

Originality/value

This review analysed the literature on the relationship between QM and productivity, as few studies have done before, generating original, interesting and useful findings that can guide future research and that also represent a useful tool for researchers, practitioners, managers and policy makers.

Customer satisfaction and ISO 9001 improvement requirements in the supply chain

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of ISO 9001 quality improvement requirements in ISO 9001:2008, i.e. the corrective and preventive actions and internal audit, on customer satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

For the purposes of the study, data were collected via a survey on 200 aerospace and transportation companies that belong to a Canadian multinational company supply chain. The relationships between the corrective and preventive actions and internal auditing, on the one hand, and customer satisfaction, on the other, were examined via the structural equation modeling technique.

Findings

The major contribution of this study is that it has identified internal audit as the most influential continual improvement ISO 9001 requirement prior to the ISO 9001 transition phase, along with the corrective actions, while the preventive actions in the present formulation do not significantly influence customer satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on a cross-sectional survey conducted on the supply chain level in the aerospace and transportation sector; hence, a longitudinal study is possible as a future research avenue. The generalizability of this study’s findings is limited to similar supply chains around a multinational company consisted of companies that have at least ISO 9001 standard, but also fulfill other industry-specific requirements. Also, findings are based mainly on quality managers’ attitudes, so future studies are recommended to examine other positions’ views, too.

Practical implications

This research contributes to the literature and bridges the gap between theory and practice. It could be of value to both the certification bodies and the organizations that are interested in improving customer satisfaction by implementing ISO 9001 in the multinational supply chains context such as the aerospace and transportation sector.

Originality/value

While the influence of the ISO 9001 standard on customer satisfaction has been the subject of prior research, this is the first time that the simultaneous effect of the corrective and preventive actions and internal auditing on customer satisfaction has been studied. The validity of the removal of preventive actions from ISO 9001:2015 has also been analyzed.

Ranking criteria for selection of certification bodies for ISO 9001 through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a framework to assist the selection of certification bodies in the implementation of quality management system (QMS) based on ISO 9001 taking into account a set of criteria organized in a multi-level hierarchical form. To deal with this complexity, the multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used in this research.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted in small and medium-sized companies certified to ISO 9001. The MCDM method AHP was used as a method for developing the model to support the selection of certification bodies.

Findings

This paper provides a framework for companies seeking to hire certification bodies, mainly for ISO 9001 certification, which help identify the companies that best fit the certification objectives. Additionally, a ranking of the main criteria to select certification bodies for ISO 9001 was obtained.

Research limitations/implications

The decision-making method was applied to Brazilian companies from different sectors. As the results can vary between regions and sectors, this is a limitation of the research. In addition, the number of ten respondents could be higher to increase the robustness of the results.

Practical implications

The model assists companies looking for certification, mainly ISO 9001, in the selection of certification bodies contributing in the search for deeper implementations of QMS.

Originality/value

This work has the originality of the application of a decision-making method in the final process of ISO 9001 certification, scarce in the literature. In addition, it defines weights for the criteria involved in the process of selecting certification bodies.

Empirical evidence about ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 in Italian companies

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the experience of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 certified companies, examining their motivations to introduce the standard and their perceived benefits and barriers. In parallel, the research investigated the knowledge and perception of ISO 9004 guideline, analyzing if it could give an added value to certified companies.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was proposed by e-mail to 2,581 Italian ISO 9001 certified companies from January 18 to March 31, 2016; 522 companies participated to the survey.

Findings

Companies of different size have been driven by different motivations to certification, reaching different types of benefits, while both large and small ones perceived the greater bureaucratization as an obstacle. The ISO 9004 standard is little known and applied among Italian companies, but the ones which adopted it benefited from it.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation may be derived from the fact that the sample was composed only of Italian companies, although this effect was to understand perceptions and trends of these international standards in the Italian reality.

Practical implications

Analyzing perceived advantages and disadvantages of ISO 9001 and 9004 could be crucial for managers to understand if their joint use is the right strategy to gain competitiveness in the reference markets.

Originality/value

Compared to previous studies in which ISO 9001 was evaluated as a stand-alone standard, the research made a comparative evaluation with ISO 9004, as ISO considers them to be “consistent pair of standards,” covering the literature gap about the effectiveness of the joint use of them.

Identifying the critical determinants of TQM and their impact on company performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enrich the existing literature by determining the underlying structure (latent factors) of total quality management (TQM) practices and their impact on company performance outcomes in the Greek hotel industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The research questions were examined using a sample of 153 top-and middle-level hotel-quality managers. Exploratory factor analyses, coupled with multiple linear regression analyses, were used to examine the extent to which elements of TQM influence hotel performance.

Findings

The TQM factors revealed by the present empirical research in the hotel industry are the quality practices of top management, strategic quality planning, employee quality management, customer focus and employee knowledge and education. On the other hand, the performance dimensions revealed through the present study are summarized as: financial performance, customer focused performance and service quality performance. The results also confirmed that most of the TQM elements are antecedents of hotel business performance.

Practical implications

Hotel managers/owners using reliable and valid frameworks comprising TQM practices and performance outcomes may better address their efforts by choosing whether to invest in company refurbishing or better train their personnel to maximize hotel performance.

Originality/value

The purpose of this study is to enrich the existing literature by identifying and confirming the enablers and outcomes of TQM specifically within the hospitality industry. Moreover, the relationship between the implementation of TQM practices and superior company performance is also examined due to the past contradictory results regarding this matter.

The impact of total quality management on service company performance: evidence from Spain

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to explore the impact of total quality management (TQM) factors on performance dimensions of service companies.

Design/methodology/approach

– A research project was designed in the Spanish services sector. Companies that had already participated in activities with regard to business excellence were randomly selected and approached through a structured questionnaire, yielding a sample of 151 responding companies. By analyzing TQM implementation and company performance through the exploratory factor analysis, specific TQM factors and performance dimensions are extracted. The TQM factors that significantly influence the performance dimensions are determined through multiple linear regression analyses.

Findings

– According to the findings, the factors describing TQM implementation in service companies concern quality practices of top management, employee quality management, process management, employee knowledge and education and customer focus. Similarly, the performance dimensions revealed concern financial performance, operational performance, customer satisfaction and product/service quality performance. The TQM factors concerning customers, employees and top management significantly affect the performance dimensions.

Research limitations/implications

– The subjective data were collected from quality managers of a small-sized sample of companies operating in a European Union country and belonging to different services sub-sectors. Based on these limitations, future research studies are recommended.

Practical implications

– By focussing on specific TQM factors, a service company can improve its performance dimensions. In doing so, it can lay the foundations not only to survive but to be competitive in the current global scenario that is characterized by an economic downturn.

Originality/value

– This paper describes a reliable TQM model that can be implemented in the services sector and a means by which a service company can improve its performance.

The financial impact of a withdrawn ISO 9001 certificate

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess to what extent the loss of the ISO 9001 certification affects the decertified firms’ financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using standard event study methods, this paper matches a sample of 143 Portuguese companies that lost their ISO 9001 certification with similar non-event counterpart firms (according to return-on-assets (ROA) and size) and compares the performance of these two groups of firms using financial data collected from the AMADEUS database.

Findings

– Results show no statistical significant differences in the financial performance (as measured by ROA, return-on-sales (ROS) and sales growth) between companies that lost their ISO 9001 certification and their matched firms. Although the literature suggests that certification improves firms’ performance and that the benefits of certification may last over long periods of time, this paper’s results suggest that, after decertification, companies do not exhibit over or underperformance in their operations vis-à-vis comparable firms that do not undergo the same event.

Originality/value

– As far as the authors are aware, this is the first study assessing the impact of ISO 9001 certificate withdrawal on the decertified firms’ financial performance.

ISO 9001: 2008 implementation and impact on the University of Nairobi: a case study

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present the experience and impact of implementing the ISO 9001: 2008 Standard at the University of Nairobi, in relation to effectiveness on service delivery, operational performance, automation, implementation challenges and related emerging issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper adopted a case study design approach based on qualitative analysis of internal audit reports, internal surveys and feedback, surveillance audits conducted by the certifying body, and rankings by external bodies, over a period of seven years.

Findings

– Significant achievements have been realized with regard to institutionalization of quality into the university processes, work environment, documentation and record management, customer satisfaction, infrastructure and facilities, use of ICT as a prime mover of performance improvement, and ranking of the university. Opportunities for improvement as well as critical success factors are presented.

Practical implications

– The paper reports successes that may encourage other institutions of higher learning that are not certified to implement Quality Management Systems (QMSs) according to ISO 9001 Standard by focusing on specific factors.

Originality/value

– This paper shows how an ISO 9001 certified QMS can improve internal institutional practices and avoid frequently experienced drawbacks.

ISO 9001 overall performance dimensions: an exploratory study

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to validate and assess the performance dimensions reflecting ISO 9001 benefits in service companies and to determine their relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

– A research study was carried out in 198 ISO 9001:2008 certified Greek service companies. Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire and have been analyzed with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.

Findings

– Four performance dimensions reflecting ISO 9001 benefits are extracted and validated, namely, product/service quality, operational, market and financial performance.

Research limitations/implications

– The research sample is limited to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in a specific European country. Further research may confirm the findings of this study to other countries as well.

Practical implications

– By determining and evaluating the performance dimensions and their inter-relationships, the ISO 9001 certified service companies are assisted to select an appropriate strategy to further improve their performance and competitiveness. The suggested model can be also used as a self-assessment and benchmarking tool for managers and practitioners alike.

Originality/value

– The present study provides a comprehensive model of performance dimensions reflecting ISO 9001 benefits in service companies.

Perceived voluntary code legitimacy: Towards a theoretical framework and research agenda

Increasingly within industries voluntary codes (standards) are being developed and subsequently used by firms to address social and environmental issues. On any particular issue multiple competing codes may be available for adoption by firms. Given a choice of codes, which ones will firms adopt? Building on existing institutional and economic research pertaining to voluntary codes this paper proposes a theoretical model as to why some codes are perceived as legitimate by firms and hence are widely adopted while others are not. This model proposes that, in addition to the role of the code's content, the characteristics of the adopting firm, and environmental factors, the origins of a voluntary code, including the characteristics of the developer creating it, the development process, and the opportunity for firms to engage in formalized ‘normative conversations’ regarding the code subsequent to its adoption, will influence whether potential firm adopters perceive the code as legitimating and hence decide to adopt it. Rather than code adoption simply reflecting institutional mimicry or a rational transaction by adopting firms this model suggests that both the creation and the maintenance processes surrounding codes play important roles in the perceptions of legitimacy and subsequent adoption of codes by firms.