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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Management systems and standards have become a key part of the organisation's lifeline and a prerequisite for survival in the twenty‐first century. Systems for quality environmental and occupational health and safety (OHS) now form the three main pillars of the organisation, the fourth one being financial accounting. In light of the increasing pressure and demands from different stakeholders, it is becoming necessary for organisations to adopt the different systems/standards. However, to achieve the benefits from the implementation and subsequently maintenance of these systems it is only a practical and logical step that the existing management systems/standards be integrated into a single system.

This paper presents the experiences of three Australian‐based organisations that have successfully undertaken the integration of their management systems/standards. Data for this paper were collected through in‐depth interviews conducted with the managers responsible for quality, environment and OHS systems.

The interviews revealed a number of quantifiable and unquantifiable benefits experienced by the companies from operating one integrated system, such as saving of dollars, better utilisation of resources and improved communication across the organisation, to name a few. However, for the benefits to be realized it is essential that organisations are aware of the challenges and obstacles accompanying integration of systems/standards. If these challenges are not addressed early in the process they can delay the completion of the integration process.

Recommendations for other organisations contemplating integrating their management system include: obtaining commitment from the top management; having adequate resources to integrate the systems; having communication and training across the organisation in aspects of integration; and, last but not the least, having integrated audits. Implementation of these recommendations may vary from one organisation to another; however, it would result in lesser resistance for the organisations following them.

The purpose of this paper is to study how the expression “integrated management systems” is interpreted in literature, what it means to have an integrated management system (IMS) and what the results of this are.

A literature review was conducted based on Scopus using the search term “Integrated Management Systems.” In the chosen articles, effects of integration, scope, level and extent of integration and if the approach is inside-out or outside-in, have been analyzed.

Most articles on IMS conclude that integration is beneficial regarding cost saving, operational benefits and improved customer satisfaction. The general approach in the articles, describes an inside-out approach with focus on integrating existing management standards. The scope of integration covers typically management systems for quality, environment and occupational health and safety.

An IMS is found to be a system that integrates existing management standards based on an inside-out approach. This indicates possibilities for both practical improvement and research in exploring how integrated stakeholder needs could be managed, possibly as process-based IMSs.

This paper sheds light on the ambiguous interpretation of the IMS concept.

In the past few years, management systems implementation and certification has become a common practice among different types of organizations. In this context, quality management systems certification, according to the ISO 9001 standard is in the spotlight, due to over than 1.000.000 certified organizations by the end of 2009. Quality management systems can be integrated with an increasing variety of other subsystems implemented according to other standards, including environmental systems, health and safety, social responsibility, R&D, risk, or human resources, and subsystems raised from specific standards designed for specific activity sectors (HACCP, automotive or aeronautics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and software). Due to this evolution, careful attention should be taken on how these different subsystems have been and should be articulated, harmonized and integrated. Thus, this paper intends to approach different strategies to achieve integration, with several levels of intensity, depth and authenticity between the different subsystems, and report some final recommendations related with good practices assuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the integration process.

A case study methodology has supported this research. Three case studies were conducted on Portuguese companies that have an integrated quality, environmental and safety management system.

If the companies' strategy is to implement more than one management system, there is a clear advantage of doing it supported on an integrated approach, avoiding the development of organizational “islands” related to each subsystem. This organizational “archipelago” structure is completely far way from any global optimized solution, based on a holistic perspective.

Based on the conclusions that we were able to find out, this paper is an important contribution to the integrated management systems research area, because it states different integration approaches and levels of integration and what are the features that characterize each one of those approaches and levels.

Due to the proliferation of function‐specific management systems and related standards, a need has emerged to somehow integrate them in order to reduce wasteful redundancies and possibly generate synergy effects. While the integration of the requirements of standards, for example ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, does not represent a major issue, doing the same for internal management systems may present a few obstacles. This paper discusses various ideas for the development of an integrated management system, together with the supporting audit methodologies. A two‐pronged model based on systems thinking is suggested for future work in this exciting area of research and practice.

The need to create integrated management systems (IMS) in order to handle the proliferation of management system standards is undeniable. There is also evidence in literature and practice that organizations are slowly starting to tackle the IMS issue, mainly by putting an integrated quality and environmental management system in place. Due to the existence of internationally accepted standards covering these two fields, namely ISO 9000 and 14000 series, such a scope of integration comes as no surprise. However, can and should other systems, for example, the ones for occupational health and safety, dependability, social accountability or complaints handling, be included? What would such an integration mean for the existing organizational structures and how could be it be accomplished? When we attempt to address IMS issues, do we really talk about the integration of standards, systems, both or neither? These and other important questions regarding IMS are addressed here. By means of an example from the nuclear industry, this paper focuses in particular on the integration of a safety management system within an IMS framework. Since safety is of such a paramount importance in nuclear plants, it makes sense to integrate safety requirements within a quality management system, as a possible first step in the integration efforts. Subsequently, other function‐specific requirements may be included to form a “real” IMS.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the order of management system standards (MSSs) implementation in an organization and its level of integration are changed during the time of the standard implementation.

Survey was send to 885 organizations located in Poland which registered at least two MSSs selected from popular international standards, e.g.: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 22000 or other international management standard. There were 81 valid questioners obtained. Studied organizations where classify into a three different groups with similar level of MS integration.

Different standards can be implemented simultaneously, and this tendency is more popular nowadays than few years ago. In most cases time of implementation of MSSs in second and further round of implementation is shorter than during the implementation of first standards. The group of organizations with a higher level of MSSs integration is the group where the integrated systems operates for a shorter period of time, than in the other groups. While in a group of organizations where MSSs are on the lowest level of integration, the average period of time of MSS operating is the longest.

The paper analyses order and time of systems implementation that allow organizations to achieve higher levels of integration and presents a possible pattern for the companies initiating the integration process.

This paper discusses how a systems approach to management can be used to facilitate the development and implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) in an organization. It is argued that any solution to address the rapidly growing need for the integration of function‐specific management systems requires two elements: a conceptual model and a supporting methodology. While the research on IMS modelling is fairly advanced, evidenced by a number of existing models that would probably qualify to provide the basis for integration, development of methodologies to achieve fully‐integrated systems is still lacking. This paper therefore provides a set of criteria for selection of the most appropriate IMS model, followed by a discussion of one such model based on the systems approach. The presented model can be used to integrate the requirements of existing and upcoming function‐specific management system standards, and provide a foundation for the top‐down integration of internal systems that these standards describe. Subsequently, a short discussion on the issue of the IMS methodology is given, and the paper concludes with a list of questions that will help researchers design a comprehensive IMS methodology.

This paper relates the main findings of a literature review of integrated management systems (IMS). In general, integration has been discussed in the literature dealing with quality, environmental, and health and safety management. The need for an IMS has arisen as a result of the decisions of organisations to implement an environmental management system and/or an occupational health and safety management system in addition to a quality management system. A number of differences have been identified in the interpretation of what integration means and how it should be accomplished. This leads the authors to conclude that the need for definitions is of some urgency. It is also pointed out that the current emphasis is on achieving compatibility between the standards to facilitate alignment.

Operation and maintenance (O&M) processes projects such as identification, assessment, planning and execution, embody a variety of standards such as technical (method of statement), environmental, economic (campus development) and social (health and wellbeing). Because these standards have proven to be challenging to integrate, local governments are increasingly experimenting with social innovation (SI) as a bottom-up form of standard integration. This study aims to apply the concept of SI to the O&M processes of facilities management at polytechnics in Malaysia to identify problems with conventional working practices in this area and to recommend potential solutions.

The paper reviews evidence that conventional working methods generate significant problems related to paper-based forms, improper database management and flawed decision-making processes. Because of the lack knowledge about different ways of how standard integration is achieved, the comparison of three polytechnic institutions which are Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (SPCEET) in USA as well as Seberang Perai Polytechnic, Pulau Pinang (PSP) in Malaysia shares the ambition to realise standard integration of O&M through SI.

The findings reveal that SI leads to four ways of standard integration: computerised maintenance management system, online customer complaint, electronic form and relational database. Application of the concept of SI reveals the need for more sophisticated management solutions in the O&M processes of facilities management.

These standard integration arrangements unfortunately seem to mainly contribute to greater alignment between standard rather than true standard integration. The concept of SI will guide future improvements and developments in maintenance management systems to fulfil requirements in this area.