Barriers to ISO 9001 implementation in Moroccan organizations: Empirical study

Abstract

Abstract:Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore obstacles to ISO 9001 quality management system implementation in Moroccan firms.Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey has been conducted among a heterogeneous sample of 200 organizations, operating in different sectors in Morocco, yielding a response rate of 57.5%. The authors have studied barriers to quality initiatives in general and obstacles to QMS implementation in particular through an extensive literature review. Questions related to profiles of respondents, reasons of seeking certification, external consultancy and barriers to ISO 9001 implementation experienced by surveyed organizations. For the purpose of this study, authors considered three categories of quality inhibiting factors: organizational, technical and costs related barriers. Findings:Results indicate that surveyed companies sought ISO 9001 certification mainly for marketing reasons and experienced many difficulties during the implementation process. Barriers reported by respondents were mostly organizational. Resistance to change headed the list according to participants' opinion. Also, findings highlighted the prominence of bureaucracy and poor interdependence between departments in organizations. Lack of communication, poor top management commitment and insufficient trainings were also ascertained to be obstacles to QMS implementation in Morocco. Originality/value: Earlier studies were led by different researchers in different countries about barriers to quality initiatives in general and to ISO 9001 implementation in particular. Few of those studies were conducted in Arab speaking countries but no research has been carried in Morocco. This study on obstacles to QMS implementation in Morocco will help in completing the jigsaw of difficulties faced by organizations worldwide when preparing to ISO 9001 certification. Research limitations/implications:This research is limited by the geographic context of the study Morocco, although results can be extrapolated to Arab speaking countries in general. Practical implications:The findings of this paper provide Moroccan managers with a practical understanding of the factors that are likely to obstruct ISO 9001 QMS implementation. Managers should overcome these barriers to achieve a successful implementation and higher QMS performance.

Insights into the reasons behind the limited implementation of ISO 9001 certification: empirical evidence from Yemen

“…Bounabri et al (2018) surveyed ISO 9001 certified Moroccan organizations to assess the motivation and barriers of ISO 9001 implementation. According to the research results, the primary motivation for driving Moroccan organizations to seek certification was marketing purposes.…”

“…Developing and least-developed countries have faced issues with lower levels of quality control and improvement practices due to limited success in meeting international quality standards, which have hindered the penetration of businesses into regional and global markets (Aamer, 2018; Addis, 2019; Al-Awlaqi et al , 2018; Babatunde and Sui Pheng, 2015; Ochieng et al , 2015; Valmohammadi and Kalantari, 2015; Willar et al , 2015). One of the crucial factors in quality improvement is the establishment of a quality management system (QMS) to organize and standardize quality and improvement, let alone increase the credibility of organizations in order to be able to penetrate international markets (Bounabri et al , 2018; Murphy and Leonard, 2016; Zeng et al , 2015). While ISO 9001 standard certification is reaching saturation in some countries and regions (Simon and Kafel, 2018), other developing and least developed countries are still struggling with the implementation of ISO 9001.…”

Continuous improvement enablers: Defining a new construct

“…Moreover, through training, the objectives and implications of CI could be explained so that employees understand why CI is necessary in the current business environment (Albors-Garrigós et al, 2009;Middel et al, 2007;Rich & Bateman, 2003;Suárez-Barraza & Ramis-Pujol, 2008) and what their role in the whole process is. On the contrary, misunderstandings may appear and CI could be seen as a control system (Dale et al, 1997) and resistance to change may appear (Bounabri, El Oumri, Saad, Zerrouk & Ibnlfassi, 2018;Sanchez-Ruiz, 2014;Taherimashhadi & Ribas, 2018). The third most important enabler is Integrating CI objectives in strategic objectives.…”

“…At this point, the role of managers should be highlighted (Das, Kumar & Kumar, 2011). As Taherimashhadi and Ribas (2018) and Bounabri et al (2018) highlighted, managers sometimes expect short-term success and this is not compatible with the process needed to adapt the company culture in order to assure a sustainable change. Therefore, not only are managers responsible for giving CI the importance it deserves as a long-term strategy (Carmona-Márquez, Leal-Millán, Vázquez-Sánchez, Leal-Rodríguez & Eldridge, 2016), they should also allocate time and human resources to this initiative.…”

Difficulties and Problems Encountered in ISO 9001:2015 implementation in the Philippines

“…Most of the barriers were organizational factors such as resistance to change, which was prominent in the organizations (Bounabri et al, 2018). Organizational leaders should continue to focus on developing plans for members of the organization, such as awareness of change (Ruiz-Moreno et al, 2015).…”