Gavin P.M. Dick

Shedding light on causation between ISO 9001 and improved business performance

ISO 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 size 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 analyses show that reverse causation is a major mechanism that explains the superior performance of the certified firms. The analyses cast doubt on any inference of attribution 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 a logic for testing the influence of reverse causation on results and demonstrates the potential confusion of attribution in research designs that can only infer causation.

The progress of female police officers?An empirical analysis of organisational commitment and tenure explanations in two UK police forces

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish empirically whether there is any foundation in the premise that female officers lesser tenure and/or lower levels of commitment than men explain their lack of career progress. Although the number of women in UK police forces has grown rapidly, it appears that they continue to be under‐represented in senior ranks.Design/methodology/approach – Using whole population surveys of two county police forces in the UK the paper compares the promotion of men and women police officers controlling for tenure. The paper then compares the organisational commitment of male and female officers and analyses whether female officers experience managerial and organisational influences that undermine their organisational commitment compared to men.Findings – The findings refute some of the widespread beliefs about reasons for female officers lack of progress in their policing careers since the analysis indicates that gender differences in length of tenure and organisationa...

Exploring Performance Attribution: The Case of Quality Management Standards Adoption and Business Performance

– Accreditation to the ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems Standard has proven to be a persistent and growing phenomenon in services and manufacturing, yet to date little attempt has been made to explore how performance results in cross‐sectional research may be attributed to different causation mechanisms and how their influences may alter over time. This paper aims to fill this gap., – The paper defines four possible causation mechanisms before searching and analysing the empirical literature on quality management system certification to ISO 9001 and business performance for evidence of their causal influence., – From the analyses, it is found that the benefit that can safely be attributed to the treatment‐effect of ISO 9001 accreditation is lower waste; while the benefits of lower costs and better quality are less likely unless motives for adoption are developmental rather than externally driven. From an analysis of longitudinal studies a strong selection‐mechanism is found where more profitable firms have a greater propensity to adopt than less profitable firms. From the finding propositions are developed to show how the influence of these mechanisms change over time., – The existence of the selection‐mechanism has profound implications for interpreting business performance achievements because the benefits that are attributed to the treatment‐effect from adopting quality management system standards are likely to be greatly inflated by the influence of the selection‐mechanism. The author suggests that richer theory is needed that can incorporate bi‐directional influences and new research is needed to explore the underlying causes of the selection effect., – The paper is believed to be the first to systematically explore attribution of performance in the ISO 9001 literature. Its findings provide new insights into the complexities of attribution of performance in studies of new practices and systems.

Trends in quality management research in higher education institutions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the state of research in quality management (QM) in higher education institutions based on a review of the academic literature. The aim is to provide universities with the best evidence for informing their focus and models for quality improvement. Despite quality’s role growing in importance as universities strive to compete in an increasingly underfunded market for students and research funds the review shows that current research is limited in volume and scope. Design/methodology/approach – To ensure the widest coverage in our systematic literature review we use three databases: ScienceDirect, ABI/Inform, and Emerald. Findings – The findings show that the three most common topics are QM implementation issues, QM models, techniques and tools, and QM dimensions. The key QM enabling dimensions found are: people management, process management and information and analysis, while the results dimension is predominantly focused on an understanding of stakehold...