The debate about the impact of ISO 9000/1994 on performance has been waging since its inception. While there is a general agreement regarding the positive impact of TQM on performance, there has been less agreement among the academics about the impact of ISO 9000/1994. Perhaps in response to such debate, the new ISO 9001/2000 has appeared purporting to be more in line with the TQM philosophy. As of now, how this 2000 version actually affects performance is yet to be explored. In this study, we compare the implementation of ISO 9000/1994 and ISO 9001/2000 as representing two different efforts to implement quality management practices. We evaluate its impact on company performance with a sample of 713 Spanish industrial companies. We also examine if the 2000 version of ISO is taking us closer to the implementation of TQM. Further, we depart from the past studies methodologically by considering performance as a formative construct rather than a reflective construct. Based on the mean and covariance structural (MACS) analyses, we conclude that ISO 9001/2000 certified companies do not perform noticeably better than ISO 9000/1994 or non‐certified companies. However, we find that ISO 9001/2000 certified companies apply TQM at a higher level than ISO 9000/1994 certified companies, but whether they actually perform better is less clear.
Purpose
The high level of competition in the globalized business environment forces companies to innovate to remain competitive. Previous literature often cites information technology (IT) and supply chain collaboration as direct contributors to product innovation and IT as a direct enabler of supply chain collaboration. This suggests that IT could have an indirect effect on product innovation through supply chain collaboration, although this relationship has not been addressed yet. This paper aims to analyze empirically the direct impacts of IT and supply chain collaboration on incremental and radical product innovation and the indirect effect of IT on both types of product innovation through supply chain collaboration by using data collected from a sample of 200 manufacturing firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling was used to check the research hypotheses with a sample of 200 manufacturing companies.
Findings
The results show supply chain collaboration has a positive effect on technological innovation, showing that the collaboration with external agents foster both incremental and radical innovations. Furthermore, results show that IT directly enhances both types of product innovation (incremental and radical) indirectly through supply chain collaboration.
Research limitations/implications
This article supports the pursuit of open innovation that suggests the need to acquire external knowledge to be able to develop innovation projects. The use of tools that facilitate this transmission of knowledge becomes indispensable in environments in which companies must be involved in supply chains in which different external agents intervene and in which collaboration can promote the creation of synergies and superior competitive advantages.
Practical implications
Innovation requires more and more the use of knowledge management practices that capture external information to be used in the creation of new products. In this case, collaboration within a supply chain facilitates incremental and radical innovations. However, to strengthen this transfer of information and the adoption of behaviors that stimulate innovation, the company must use ITs.
Originality/value
This paper focus on the indirect effect of IT on product innovation through the creation of the collaborations with external agents. In spite of the importance of this relation, it has been poorly studied by previous literature. The paper’s greatest interest lies in the fact that ITs not only facilitate the transmission of knowledge but also facilitate other types of behavior among supply chain agents that invite collaboration and generate innovations.
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