Integrated management systems as a driver of sustainability performance: exploring evidence from multiple-case studies

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.

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.