TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify ISO 9001's contribution to the five enablers of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model.Design/methodology/approach– Empirical research was conducted in Cypriot ISO 9001 certified organizations to evaluate the motives that lead them to certification, the difficulties they faced during the standards' implementation and their performance improvement in the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model. Companies were asked to evaluate their performance in 85 issues related to these Enablers both before and after certification.Findings– The results of the survey indicate the “most” and the “least” important improvements from ISO 9001 certification in the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model. The results also prove that performance improvement is statistically significant in all enablers and it is also significantly related to the companies' motives for certification.Research limitations/implications– Future research should focus on the least important improvement areas of certification and the appropriate methods and techniques to boost performance in these areas towards excellence, either during the implementation of the standard or after certification.Practical implications– Shows the average improvement from ISO 9001 certification in key excellence areas. It also highlights the areas on which companies should focus after certification in order to improve their performance towards excellence.Originality/value– Examines the performance improvement of certified organizations in relation to the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model. VL - 19 IS - 5 SN - 0954-478X DO - 10.1108/09544780710817838 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/09544780710817838 AU - Gotzamani Katerina D. AU - Tsiotras George D. AU - Nicolaou Maria AU - Nicolaides Akis AU - Hadjiadamou Vassiliki PY - 2007 Y1 - 2007/01/01 TI - The contribution to excellence of ISO 9001: the case of certified organisations in Cyprus T2 - The TQM Magazine PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 388 EP - 402 Y2 - 2024/04/26 ER -