A longitudinal exploratory study of ISO 9001 certification abandonment in small- and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the expectations for ISO 9001 certification in a group of small- and medium-sized enterprises, then to assess the reasons for their subsequent abandonment of the certification and the long-term impacts of that decision. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study come from longitudinal case studies involving a series of questionnaires, in-depth on-site interviews and informal conversations with top managers of 22 firms in the heating technology service industry in Poland. The research process was conducted in three stages. The first stage occurred in the Summer of 2008 in which a broad analysis was conducted of the impact of ISO 9001 certification on the functioning of the organizations. The second stage was conducted in 2012, to gather the information about the organizations that subsequently abandoned their ISO 9001 certification. The third stage was carried out in 2016 to examine the longer-term impact of ISO 9001 certification abandonment in these organizations. Findings The main motivation for study participants obtaining ISO 9001 certification centred around market visibility and gaining new customers rather than on lowering operating costs or improving quality. Managers also expected certification to improve organization documentation. The decision to abandon certification had to do with lack of time for improvement efforts and questionable cost-benefit that could lead to higher prices. Certification was considered unnecessary to achieve the goals of the organization. In retrospect, only a small percentage (20 per cent) of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the sample group felt that abandoning ISO 9001 certification was largely the correct decision. A majority (53 per cent) thought it was largely a regrettable decision. Research limitations/implications The research is based on a limited number of case studies for smaller organizations in one purchasing group in industry rather than on a large cross-section of different organizations sizes and types. Therefore, the ability to draw statistical inferences is limited and the results may not generalize to other settings. However, this appears to be one of the few studies of its kind on voluntary abandonment of the certification. Practical implications It is important for business managers to understand not only the reasons supporting initial certification, but the rationale that organizations cite for abandonment of the certification and the long-term impacts of that decision. Originality/value A study of voluntary ISO 9001 certification abandonment appears to be relatively absent in the literature. This research opens a new area of research into the assessment of potential consequences of abandoning the certification.

Remote certification processes during global pandemic times

“…The traditional approach to auditing and certification processes on-site visits has been significantly curtailed, and it is unclear when, and under what conditions, it might resume in full [1]. Certification is a special type of conformity assessment, in which the assessment is carried out by independent organizations, which has been confirmed by an accreditation body [2,3]. Conformity assessment in accordance with the definition given in the ISO / IEC 17000 standard is a demonstration that the specified requirements for a product, process, system, person or unit have been met [4,5].…”

A Framework to Support the Process of Measurement of Customer’s Satisfaction According to ISO 9001

“…The changes introduced consider the complete life cycle of the product or service during the evaluation of environmental aspects when considering purchases and communication, as well as providing greater emphasis on monitoring environmental performance [36] [38].…”

“…Likewise, Zimon and Dellana [38], consider that the main motivation for obtaining ISO 9001 certification was centred around market visibility and gaining new customers, rather than on lowering operating costs or improving quality and organization documentation.…”

Quality Management Systems and Working Capital SMEs in GPO—A Case of Poland

“…This is due to the fact that quality management organizes the functioning of key processes in enterprises, minimizes the number of errors, reduces the costs of the so-called "poor quality" and supports the effective implementation of tasks (Chiarini et al 2020;Dellana et al 2019;Woźniak 2019;Fonseca and Domingues 2018). On the other hand, standardized systems of quality management generate certain costs related to their implementation, maintenance and improvement (Chountalas et al 2020;Zimon and Dellana 2020). There are studies on the influence of systems in the literature on the subject of quality management on the financial efficiency of the organization (Mokhtar and Muda 2012;Aarts and Vos 2001;Kafel and Simon 2017).…”