Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria

ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: Towards a Research Agenda on Management System Standards

Management system standards, also called meta‐standards, have been adopted by an increasing number of organizations across the world. Although these management system standards are based on the same type of management principles and institutional arrangements, the literature remains scattered, with diverse studies focused on specific standards and published in various journals. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the academic research on meta‐standards through an integrative review intended to shed light on the main conclusions and substantial advances made in this area. This integrative review focuses more specifically on the two main meta‐standards which have been adopted by more than 1.3 million organizations worldwide: ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. The paper contributes insights into the main streams of the literature and current knowledge gaps to be addressed in future research on the various issues related to meta‐standards: global governance, diffusion processes, motivations, benefits of adoption and impacts on performance, internalization, integration, consultancy and auditing.

Do drivers matter for the benefits of ISO 14001

Purpose – The ISO 14001 is already a global meta‐standard for implementing Environmental Management Systems. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the sources of motivation that lead companies to adopt this global standard for its perceived benefits.Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of the academic literature published on ISO 14001, motivations, and benefits has been carried out in order to establish the working hypotheses that are analyzed based on the information obtained from 214 Spanish companies that participated in a survey.Findings – The internal drivers to implement and certify the ISO 14001 standard have a degree of influence on the benefits that is significantly higher than external ones, irrespective of the size of the company and the sector of activity.Practical implications – The findings help to characterize ISO 14001 certified firms and anticipate benefits of the implementation and certification of the standard.Originality/value – The article sheds light o...

The impact of ISO 9001 standard and the EFQM model: The view of the assessors

The aim of this article is to evaluate the impact of both the ISO 9000 standard and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) self-evaluation model, the total quality management model most employed in Europe. In order to directly compare the results obtained by the two models, we analyse them together in the same temporal frame, using the same methodology, but in a new way, utilising a sample of independent assessors of quality management models. To this end, we first performed a number of objective analyses of data regarding the impact of the models, data obtained from the ISO and EFQM international organisations themselves. We then conducted a survey of 107 experienced and independent quality-management assessors, followed by a personal interview of various stakeholders involved in the adoption of the models. The results obtained pertain to the different motivations of organisations for implementing ISO 9000 standards and the EFQM model, the obstacles detected in this implementation, the degree to which both are actually adopted and the results of the models. In this article, we also highlight the differences in the way that the two models are adopted.

Internalization of ISO 9000: an exploratory study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop the operational definition of the concept of internalization of ISO 9001, a theoretical construct which until recently had not received the attention it deserves in research on quality management.Design/methodology/approach – Extensive exploratory fieldwork based on both in‐depth interviews of general managers, middle managers and employees – 65 in total – as well as on intensive participant observation – e.g. 139 direct field‐consults and 240 documents analyzed – was carried out in eight Spanish organizations that adopted the standard a long time ago.Findings – A set of specific factors and subfactors aimed at operationalizing the ISO 9001 internalization construct are proposed. Moreover, it has been ascertained that the concept of internalization is a clearly relevant one, as in previous works found in the literature in other countries, the conclusion is drawn that organizations do not adopt ISO 9001 homogeneously.Practical implications – The conclusions...Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop the operational definition of the concept of internalization of ISO 9001, a theoretical construct which until recently had not received the attention it deserves in research on quality management. Design/methodology/approach – Extensive exploratory fieldwork based on both in-depth interviews of general managers, middle managers and employees – 65 in total – as well as on intensive participant observation – e.g. 139 direct field-consults and 240 documents analyzed – was carried out in eight Spanish organizations that adopted the standard a long time ago. Findings – A set of specific factors and subfactors aimed at operationalizing the ISO 9001 internalization construct are proposed. Moreover, it has been ascertained that the concept of internalization is a clearly relevant one, as in previous works found in the literature in other countries, the conclusion is drawn that organizations do not adopt ISO 9001 homogeneously. Practical implications – The conclusions may be of interest both for academic and professional spheres of activity. For managers, the key aspects of a substantive adoption of ISO 9001 are highlighted. For academics, certain specific categorization elements are proposed for a relevant construct so that these may be used in subsequent works. Originality/value – This is a new exploratory work for its field of research. On the one hand, most works to date have tended to assume the principle of homogeneous adoption of ISO 9001. On the other, they tend to be based solely on managers’ opinions without giving voice to employees or using participative observation.

An empirical study of the relationships within the categories of the EFQM model

The relationships within the categories of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) self-assessment model are analysed in this article, based on 242 independent assessments carried out in the European region with the highest density of EFQM awards (the Basque Autonomous Community, in Spain). The main finding of the article is that the relationships within the categories of the EFQM are robust, despite the fact that there exist relationships among some of its enablers and results that fail to reach a suitable level of validity. These findings coincide with the conclusions reached in studies carried out previously on the Malcolm Baldrige model. The conclusions reached in the article may be of interest for both the academic and the professional spheres of activity.

The ties that bind? Exploring the basic principles of worker-owned organizations in practice

The Mondragon Cooperative Experience has been one of the worker-owned alternative organizations that has received the most attention in the academic world. Despite its economic success, this experience has also been wrought with its own share of tensions and internal paradoxes. Surprisingly, the perspective of worker–member–owners in the analysis of those inconsistencies in Mondragon has been given very little prominence. Similarly, the equivalence between the formal policies defined in that experience and the day-to-day activity has been widely taken for granted in the literature. This article aims to fill this gap and contribute to the literature by analyzing the extent to which Mondragon’s basic cooperative principles are applied in the daily practice from the perspective of worker–member–owners. To that end, in-depth interviews were conducted with worker–member–owners of Mondragon outside their working environment. An interpretative analysis provides evidence of a decoupling of cooperative principles from the workers’ daily activity. Furthermore, a tacit and non-formal principle frequently surfaces in the interviews: the principle of the primacy of secure membership and guaranteed employment. This seems to be the most solid tie that binds members to their organization, in a context with growing individualization and precarious employment conditions, together with a ubiquitous managerial discourse that encourages shallow forms of workplace participation. This work contributes to the broader field of organizational theory and sheds light on the dissociation process in formal policies of organizations governed by alternative founding principles. It also tries to contribute to the study of the sustainability of such alternative organizations.

Symbolic adoption of ISO 9000 in small and medium-sized enterprises: The role of internal contingencies

This article explores the decoupling between the rhetoric and practice of ISO 9000, an internationally disseminated standard in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Extensive fieldwork based on 65 in-depth interviews of general managers, middle managers and employees was undertaken in eight Spanish SMEs which adopted the standard over a long period of time. Contrary to common belief and the dominant neo-institutional approach to ISO certification, the findings indicate that firms tend to adopt ISO 9000 symbolically in response to various internal organisational contingencies, rather than as part of their adaptation to external pressures. ISO 9000 certification in SMEs can be compared to the acquisition of an organisational degree whose optimistic rhetoric and similar institutional pressures mask the considerable heterogeneity of certified organisations and elasticity of the standard when integrated into daily activities.

Internalization of quality management in service organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the internalization of quality management (QM) on the basis of quality certifiable standards – also referred to as meta-standards – in service organizations. More specifically, the paper analyzes the case of the internalization of a quality standard in the Spanish hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the relationships between the measures of internalization, benefit, QM tools and motivation, using partial least squares in the framework of the structural equation modeling technique. Findings – The results show that the hotels that have internalized the standard to a greater extent are more likely to be driven by internal motivation, develop more QM tools and achieve greater benefits than the hotels with a lower degree of internalization. Originality/value – As previous studies have examined these issues in relation to the internalization of ISO standards, the present study adds to this important stream of research and contributes...

Internalization of ISO 9001: a longitudinal survey

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the motivation to adopt International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001 on both the internalization of the standard, namely the active day-to-day use of its main underlying practices, and the benefits obtained from its adoption. Similarly, the influence of the internalization on the benefits derived from ISO 9001 is analyzed. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal survey was carried out on a sample of 110 Spanish organizations that adopted the standard in its early phase of dissemination. These organizations were surveyed in 1999 and, 12 years later, in 2011. Findings – The results show that, contrary to the results of previous research work, early adopters driven by internal motives experience neither higher levels of internalization of ISO 9001 nor higher benefits from adoption of the standard. Nevertheless, there is clear evidence that in the long run a higher level of internalization leads to greater benefits from the adoption of ISO 9001. Originality/value – The adoption of ISO 9001 is a dynamic process in which certificating organizations play an important role.

A case study of the adoption of a reference standard for ISO 14006 in the lift industry

The Spanish UNE 150301 standard was used as a basic reference point in paving the way for the ISO 14006 ecodesign standard. This article aims to analyze the pioneering UNE 150301 standard, as well as its adoption process and its practical results in the lift industry. Since the UNE 150301 standard is in a very early stage of dissemination, an empirical study based on a qualitative methodology has been designed. An exploratory case study has therefore been carried out with the participation of a company from the lift industry which is, in fact, the first Spanish industrial company to have adopted the aforementioned ecodesign standard. The company subjected to analysis has integrated ecoindicators into the design process to analyze the environmental impact of its products on each stage of their life cycle. Using these ecoindicators, the company has observed that the main impact is evident in the usage stage, due to energy consumption. The company has managed to improve products by means of a continuous improvement process, with reductions in terms of both cost and environmental impact. The adoption of the standard UNE 150301 can be a useful tool in reducing the environmental impact of the products and in obtaining some competitive advantages, such as cost reduction, improvement in energy efficiency of the product, and a better adaptation to laws and regulations.