Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to put forward and classify the critical success factors (CSF) of Six Sigma implementation, as well as the tools-techniques that it utilizes in all the phases of the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) structured methodology. Design/methodology/approach -A literature review of Six Sigma's CSF has been realized and also an attempt to connect them with the enablers of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). A literature review of the tools and techniques utilized follows and a categorization of them according to the phase of the DMAIC. Findings -The paper has collected a list of 32 CSF which were classified according to the five EFQM enablers, and the soft-hard differentiation. A list of 39 tools/techniques used in the different phases of DMAIC and the ISO 13053-1 suggestions has also been referred. Originality/value -The final classifications of CSF and techniques of Six Sigma methodology could be a valuable tool for Six Sigma academics and professionals to understand and implement the methodology in the appropriate way.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the benefits of ISO 9001 certification and the association between them, the level of implementation of the critical success factors (CSFs) required for the appropriate functioning of the quality management system in ISO 9001:2008 certified companies and between other demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach -A research project was carried out in Greek companies from all business sectors using the questionnaire technique. The selected companies implement a quality management system in accordance with the ISO 9001:2008 standard. Correspondence analysis, a methodology from the field of multidimensional statistics, was used to identify significant differences between the effects on performance and other variables such as the implementation level of CSFs relating to the quality management system and years of certification. Findings -External benefits seem to be more important than internal benefits. The least important benefits were mostly business results, such as profits, costs and market share. Differences were detected between the level of performance and certain demographic variables such as the use of International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) alone, size and years of certification. The certified companies have generally benefited from ISO implementation.Research limitations/implications -The study was based on the perceptions (subjective data) of only one quality manager/representative from each company. The motives for ISO certification, which can seriously affect the benefits derived, were not examined. Practical implications -The measures presented here can be used by certified companies to evaluate performance (financial or not) related to ISO 9001 certification and to discover those factors that contribute to the better exploitation of the ISO 9001:2008 standard. Originality/value -This paper aims to evaluate performance since the implementation of the ISO 9001:2008 standard in Greek companies, which are confronting a tough economic environment and to analyse this data with a methodology from the multidimensional field, with the complementary use of some special tables of coincidence.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of the importance and implementation of the critical success factors (CSFs) required for the appropriate function of a quality management system (QMS) in ISO 9001:2008-certified companies and the differences between the CSFs and the demographic variables of the companies. Design/methodology/approach – A research project was carried out in Greek companies from all business sectors using the questionnaire technique. The selected companies all implement a QMS in accordance with the ISO 9001:2008 standard. Correspondence analysis, a methodology from the multidimensional statistics field, was also used to identify significant differences between the importance and implementation levels of the CSFs of the QMS. Findings – The importance that quality assurance managers attribute to these CSFs was high enough in most categories, but there was a significant difference in the implementation level, which displayed much lower scores. The most important factors seem to be management commitment, education, and communication, while the least important were the availability of data and use of statistics. Differences between categories of demographic variables were present only for the firm size variable. Research limitations/implications – The study was based on the perception (i.e. subjective data) of only one quality manager/representative of each company. Practical implications – The paper provides information to certified companies in Greece on the differences in the importance and implementation levels of quality management practices (especially for hard factors) and motivation to investigate possible causes. Moreover, the most important factors for the successful implementation of ISO 9001 are presented. Originality/value – This paper describes the implementation and given importance of the CSFs in companies with experience of the ISO 9001:2008 standard and for the analysis of the data a methodology from the multidimensional field is applied, with the complementary use of some special tables of coincidences.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution from the use of quality tools and the implementation of quality management systems (QMSs) to the management of an organization. The question is if these aspects have an impact on the important elements of a QMS, like critical success factors (CSFs), but more on the performance derived from its functioning. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was created and addressed to Greek companies which were certified with at least one QMS standard, in this case ISO 9001:2008. Findings It was concluded that companies implementing more than one QMS and more than nine quality tools gave more importance to specific CSFs of the QMS and also displayed better performance from the rest of the companies. The final conclusion is that the utilization of tools, techniques, and the implementation of more than one QMS – integration of management systems (MSs) – can contribute to many aspects of organization functioning. Research limitations/implications This study was based on the perception (subjective data) of only one quality manager/representative of each company. The companies were not asked about specific actions they have established to integrate their MSs. Practical implications This paper provides a closest look to the utilization of more than one QMS and the use of quality tools. These actions, as concluded, can play an important role in the management of organizations, and managers could use them in an appropriate way. Originality/value This paper aims to evaluate the value of QMS integration and the utilization of quality tools to specific issues of QMS as CSFs and performance in Greek companies.