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The increasing demand of mechanisms making easier the choice of a provider, both in the domestic and global markets, has contributed to ISO 9000 certification possession becoming a requisite for the development of commercial relations. The present article is based upon the results of an empirical research in which the effectiveness and reach of ISO 9000 certification is studied at a multi-sector level in Spain. Mail surveys were carried out on 3,864 certificated organizations, and 749 (19.4 per cent) responded. Results indicated that certification helps in terms of being a management tool, a source of competitive advantages and its potential to stimulate the company transition towards total quality management.

ISO 9000 certification adds to the fact of being a management tool, source of competitive advantages, its potential to stimulate the advance of industry towards TQM. Many studies have been published that seem to confirm this, but a close review of available publications has allowed us to detect the absence of such an investigation in Spain. That is why an empirical work has been planned, its main goal being to analyse how relevant certification may be in the progress of Spanish companies towards TQM. Mail surveys were carried out on 3,864 certified organizations; 749 (19.4 per cent) responded. The answers of participating companies reflect that although certification leads to a basic quality level, it is also true that it generates a degree of steadiness and a constant demands for updatinh and adaptation of the system it is based on, transforming it into a perfect foundation for more advanced quality practices.

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