A cultural study of ISO 9000 certification

Abstract

Reports an exploratory investigation of the organizational cultural values supporting and inhibiting certification to the ISO 9000 series of quality standards. As more firms pursue certification to ISO 9000 based quality system standards, the hypothesis emerges of a common cultural profile to support successful certification. This hypothesis was investigated by asking management representatives of firms currently registered to the ISO 9000 standards to evaluate the roles of specific organizational values in their successfully registered firms. A modified version of an existing culture measurement procedure was used to measure culture. Factor analysis identified factors working towards and against attainment of ISO 9000 certification. The results of this study suggest organizations seeking ISO 9000 certification should be decisive, team‐oriented, risk‐averse, and should value stability, pay attention to detail, value high levels of organization and value working in a co‐operative environment with good interpersonal relationships. Offers suggestions for extending this research beyond the current study.

Citation

Mallak, L.A., Bringelson, L.S. and Lyth, D.M. (1997), "A cultural study of ISO 9000 certification", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 328-348. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656719710170611