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This study aims to explore the barriers to implementation of ISO 9000 in China, and to identify how these barriers can be overcome.

Using a structural questionnaire survey, this paper examines the main barriers for enterprises in effective implementation of the ISO 9001 standard.

This paper highlights the problems in implementing the standard, which determines the sustainable implementation, including: short‐sighted goal for “getting certified”; over‐expectation on the ISO 9001 standard; mandatory requirement (not wholehearted commitment) in some industries; and following others (the trend) in certification. With regard to the effective audit of the ISO 9001 standard, the main problems were explored, including: lack of commitment from some certifying bodies; excessive competition between certifying bodies; and offering of a total packaged service from consultancy to certification by certifying bodies.

The ISO 9000 series have permeated into all industrial sectors. Although there are many stories of successful adoption of ISO 9001, problems in implementing the standards need to be explored, which may affect the sustainable implementation.

Based on the analysis, the paper proposes that the government should improve the legal framework and enforcement schemes to strengthen supervision and control for effective auditing of ISO 9000 standards.

The authors extend the literature on decoupling by analyzing the microlevel effects of institutionalized practices within the framework of international standards. This study investigates the specific informal management practices that decision-makers embrace in order for organizations to achieve ISO 9001 certification without all regulations being adopted and followed according to the standard's original design and purpose.

As the basis for its research framework, this paper adopts the neo-institutional theory. The research employs the comparative case study method and draws its data from a sample of 21 ISO 9001:2008 certified organizations in Bulgaria.

The results show ambivalent behavior toward the ISO 9001 standard's formal requirements. This behavior is expressed through targeted noncompliance with (certain) regulations and procedures regarding top management commitment, as well as documented information which are formally adopted within the organization and certified as complying with the standard.

The study has implications for future research into decoupling, organizational learning, and standardization. In terms of limitations, the authors examined the process of decoupling from a micro perspective in Bulgaria only. Noncompliance with international standards such as the ISO 9000 may exhibit specific regional or national characteristics.

Findings from this research encourage the International Standards Organization to respond to previous calls for revising the formal structure of ISO 9000 and other international management standards by considering a more flexible and liberal point of view.

As opposed to previous studies which have explored decoupling from a macro perspective, this study focuses on how the internal constraints imposed by the standard's universal requirements are being mitigated at a micro level. That is, the authors provide a detailed account of the specific informal management practices which managers (deliberately) adopt in order to achieve certification without fully integrating the formal criteria imposed by international standards (e.g. ISO 9001).

Generic quality management system standard ISO 9001 and the automotive quality management system standard IATF 16949 both require organisations to demonstrate continual improvement in their customer satisfaction and the number of non-conformities identified during quality system audits. However, the long-term trends of these two parameters under ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 standards are not researched so far. It is expected that under continual improvement, organisations will achieve a step-function/stair-case shaped pattern. This study evaluates if this expectation is true when long-term performance of certified organisations is assessed.

A longitudinal exploration of three organisations certified to ISO 9001 standard and three certified to IATF 16949 standard is done. The observations are further substantiated using secondary data for the same ten years period about customer satisfaction of the major automobile manufacturers.

It is observed that none of the two indicators, i.e. the customer satisfaction and number of non-conformities, in any of the six organisations show step-wise/stair-case type improvement. All indicators followed random up and down patterns like ocean waves. It is paradoxical that certified organisations are claiming continual improvement and are remaining certified but there is actually no long-term improvement.

Longitudinal studies for the generic quality management standard ISO 9001 and the quality system standard for automotive sector IATF 16949 are rare. The revelation about ocean wave patterns observed in the long-term trends for customer satisfaction and the number of non-conformities in ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certified organisations is a startling finding. It is outlandishly different from the conventional perception of a staircase-styled continual improvement pattern expected a priori in certified organisations.

The purpose of this paper is to review and classify the main findings of the studies undertaken on ISO 9001:2000 certified companies and to present future research proposals.

A comprehensive literature review is carried out focusing on research papers published in academic literature. Both, the most recently published papers as well as those concerned only with the 2000 version of the ISO 9001 standard are chosen. The findings from the research papers are classified according to the issues examined.

The many studies undertaken regarding the ISO 9001:2000 implementation show that although there are signs that the initial results are not so positive, the general conclusion is that the standard has positive impact on the company's operational as well as business performance and on the company's effort to move towards total quality management. However, many research proposals have been expressed in order to fully determine the long‐term results as well as to specify a valid model containing the fundamental quality management practices which can effectively drive a company to business excellence.

Having in mind that the ISO 9001:2000 is getting to its end and a new revised standard is being given birth (ISO 9001:2008); the paper reveals that the research agenda is still full of topics that have to be considered in order to fully understand the standard's implications. Hence, given the findings from the researches carried out until now and the modifications made to the requirements of the new standard, this paper gives directions for effective transition to the revised standard as well as for future research studies.

Reviewing the literature, it is observed that many research papers regarding the ISO 9001:2000 standard have already been published. This paper classifies the research findings and points out future research proposals in order to fully explore the quality management discipline.

According to the ISO 9001 standard, all the certified companies should calibrate their measuring equipment. By doing so, companies can guarantee, with rigor and quality, its measurement and use reliable data for monitoring the quality of their products. However, a metrology laboratory is not required to have an ISO 9001 certification or ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. At this moment, there are companies with their quality management systems certified according to the ISO 9001 standard which have metrology laboratories to make internal checks of their measuring equipment. On the other hand, there are companies with ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratories. Finally, there are companies that have their QMS certified according to ISO 9001 and also their metrology laboratory accredited by ISO/IEC 17025. In this case the metrology laboratory must comply with the requirements of both standards. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the level of importance of the ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025 standards from the perspective of a metrology laboratory.

The research methodology used to conduct this research was supported in case studies that had been carried out in nine metrology laboratories. The information was gathered based on semi-structured interviews.

After an analysis and discussion over the data obtained, the authors verified that the impact on customer perception is significantly positive, if the metrology laboratory is simultaneous certified and accredited.

From the laboratories perspective, the issue analyzed in this paper is of the utmost importance and the aim is to give the contribution in order to clarify this kind of organizations of which could be the best option for their context.

ISO 9001 can offer users substantial management benefits. For developing country firms, this standard could offer both important management improvements and serve as a quality signal to foreign suppliers and potential buyers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of ISO 9001 on food manufacturing firms in Guyana.

A multiple case study approach, using interviews with multiple managers, was used to assess the impacts of ISO 9001 in six registered and non-registered firms.

ISO 9001 offers supply chain management benefits. Non-registered firms reported using the standard to formalize their monitoring procedures and improve planning, sourcing, manufacturing, and delivery efficiency. Registration helped firms formalize their quality management systems; it provided guidance on improving their customer/supplier relationships, and offered tools to monitor internal processes. Registered and non-registered firms reported increased customer satisfaction, market share and inventory turnover, and reduced lead times, rework, waste, and customer complaints.

The number of cases examined in this study is limited. Interview data are based on managers’ perceived experiences; it was not possible to verify this information independently.

The paper examines management benefits of adopting an international quality management standard in developing country agrifood firms.

The aim of this study is to evaluate implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) based ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards for construction firms.

Supported by a structured questionnaire survey, this paper examines several related issues in the implementation of IMS in construction firms in China. The researchers interviewed the auditors of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and senior managers of ten construction firms. The structured questionnaires were sent to 300 construction firms in China. Among them, 68 completed questionnaires were received.

The findings reveal that a majority of the firms support an integration of the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. “Similarity” and “compatibility” between the two standards are considered as the main reasons for pursuing such an integration. The benefits resulted from the integration include “avoidance duplication of procedures”, “reduced conflict of procedures”, and “reduced requirements for resources”. The research also finds that organizations need technical guidance and support from certifying bodies to complete the integration.

Proposes some useful suggestion for the contractors which are implementing (or will implement) both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.

It provides a possible solution by IMS with combining ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for the contractors which are implementing (or will implement) both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. The IMS could help the contractors to overcome the challenges faced by them and achieve continual improvement.

The aim of this study is to compare the diffusion of certifications under two quality management systems (QMSs) in the tourism sector in Spain: the generic ISO 9001 international standard; and the Spanish industry‐specific “Q” standard.

The study pursues this objective by comparing the logistic curves of dissemination of certifications under the two standards using data obtained from official sources. This analysis is complemented with qualitative data from several case studies of Spanish hotels and restaurants.

The results show that the two standards are at different stages of diffusion: certification under the Spanish “Q” standard is increasing, while the ISO 9001 international standard seems to have reached saturation point, despite the fact that a lower number of certifications have been registered under ISO 9001 than under the “Q” standard.

The main contribution of this study is that it is one of the first to analyse the dissemination of quality standards in a specific sector. The findings are thus of considerable importance in extending knowledge of quality management in the tourism sector.

This study’s main objective is to explore the ISO 9001 implementation model and identify a future research agenda. This is important because not all organizations find it easy to implement ISO 9001, and not all organizations get positive benefits after implementing it.

The paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on ISO 9001 implementation models using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews (PRISMA) methodology to systematically review the existing literature on ISO 9001 implementation models. Relevant studies published from 2003 to early 2023 are explored to reveal the research landscape, gaps and trends.

Many ISO 9001 implementation methods have been developed for actual implementation in organizations, including models, frameworks, special variable considerations, application uses and integration. These methods were developed and applied to cover gaps regarding constraints, unbeneficial, special conditions, implementation objectives and organization types in ISO 9001 implementation. Current issues and future research on ISO 9001 implementation models were found, namely ISO 9001 implementation models specific to SMEs, ISO 9001 implementation levels, ISO 9001 implementation models that are agile to change, and affordable certification models.

Only a few researchers have systematically reviewed the literature or taken a bibliometric approach in their analyses to provide an overview of the current trends and links to ISO 9001 implementation models. The ISO 9001 standard is a general standard and can be applied by all organizations with the implementation method left to the implementer. Many implementation methods have been developed, but several implementation obstacles and disadvantages are still found. It is important to know the extent of current research and discover future research gaps regarding methods of implementing the ISO 9001 standard.

Certified and non-certified organisations must make strategic decisions regarding ISO 9001 adoption, maintenance, renewal and abandonment. However, the ISO 9001 literature lacks a typology of the strategic options available to these organisations. The purpose of this conceptual study is to develop a framework of the alternative strategies for the stages of the ISO 9001 life cycle (implementation/certification, certification maintenance and recertification/decertification stages).

The research method is based on literature review, selection of relevant variables and synthesis of coherent alternative strategies.

Results include the main variables of relevance for the definition of the ISO 9001 strategies (e.g. life cycle stage, organisational motivations, barriers, benefits, internalisation degree and quality of the certification body), the main situations in which organisations can find themselves (in terms of ISO 9001 certification, maintenance and decertification), the strategic options for each situation (e.g.: certify, maintain certification, try harder, change certification body, intensify learning and experimentation with ISO 9001) and the implications and consequences of such options. Research results are integrated into a strategy framework, composed of three strategy matrices, one for each stage of the life cycle. The matrices present the strategic situations, available strategic alternatives and benefits of the strategies.

This study combines the results of previous research to develop an original strategy framework, which constitutes the main research contribution. As far as the author is aware, there is no such strategy framework in the literature. The framework has relevant implications for theory and practice and helps to identify future research directions.