The influence of motivations and other factors on the results of implementing ISO 9001 standards

Outline

• Abstract
• Jel Classification
• Keywords
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Conceptual Framework
• 2.1. Positive Effects Derived from Implementing the Iso 9001 Standard
• 2.2. Influence of the Type of Motivation (internal/external) for the Implementation of the Iso 9001 Standard on the Positive Effects Derived from Its Adherence
• 2.3. Influence of the Size of the Company on the Positive Effects Derived from the Implementation of Iso 9001
• 2.4. Influence of the Time Elapsed Since Obtaining the Certification on the Positive Effects Derived from Its Implementation
• 3. Methodology
• 3.1. Research Objective
• 3.2. Sample
• 3.3. Questionnaire
• 3.4. Variables and Proposed Model
• 4. Results
• 5. Conclusions
• References

Conclusions

This study aimed to analyze how certain factors may influence the positive internal and external effects that may result from adherence to ISO 9001. These factors were: (a) different types of internal and external motivations for implementation of this Standard; (b) the size of the companies and (c) the time elapsed since obtaining the corresponding certification. To develop this objective the research has focused on companies in the Spanish construction sector. The conclusions reached from the multiple linear regression model carried out are described below:

Regarding the variables related to different types of motivation (internal and/or external) for the implementation of ISO 9001, the model considered shows that the variable “average internal motivation” is a significant variable for all positive internal effects considered, as well as for all the external ones, except for external commercial aspects (to fulfill the requirement to be able to compete in the market), which seems logical since for the achievement of this benefit it is sufficient to have the motivation to obtain the corresponding certification. Therefore, for the rest of positive effects, the higher the level of these type of internal motivations, the greater the appearance of the benefits derived from adherence to the Standard.

However, the variables “average external motivation without commercial aspects” or “commercial external motivation”, are only significant variables for the appearance of the positive external effects to which these motivations refer to respectively, without having the same type of influence on any of the other benefits that can be achieved by adhering to ISO 9001.

In addition, in the case of the “commercial external motivation”, an inverse significance sense is detected, both for positive internal effects of human resource management and for financial external ones, that is, the higher the value of this variable, the lower the achievement of these type of benefits, which could be related to internal work and procedures required by these standards, which generate initial maintenance costs and if they are not compensated by real quality improvements, they provoke rejection in company staff and economic losses (Boiral and Amara, 2009, Heras et al., 2002, Martínez-Costa and Martínez-Lorente, 2007).

Finally, for these variables related to the motivations for the implementation of ISO 9001, the results of the model considered seem to indicate that when the motivations for adherence are mostly internal, a higher level of positive effects is achieved. This result coincides with the conclusions of the studies of Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002), Llopis and Tari (2003), Rodriguez-Escobar et al. (2006), Boiral and Roy (2007), Feng et al. (2008), Jang and Lin (2008), Martínez-Costa et al. (2008), Sampaio et al. (2009), Lee et al. (2009), Prajogo (2011) and Castillo et al., 2014a, Castillo et al., 2014b, which indicate that the search for internal improvements are the motivations that can actually cause a real improvement in the quality of the company’s functioning, which with time will result in both positive internal and external effects pursued with the implementation of ISO 9001.

On the other hand, the “company size” is not a significant variable for the different positive external effects considered (commercial, financial and customer relationship management), as well as the effects of internal organizational and implementation of operations, so the achievement of these benefits does not undergo significant variations depending on the size of the company.

These results are in line with the work of Terziovski et al. (2003), Wilson et al. (2003), Briscoe et al. (2005), Bayati and Taghavi (2007), Lee et al. (2009), Psomas et al. (2010), Prado et al. (2013) and Castillo et al., 2014a, Castillo et al., 2014b, which is consistent with the specificities of the construction and civil engineering sector, where product safety and quality has always been a fundamental characteristic for all companies regardless of their size.

Such significance is only produced in the case of the internal effects related to human resource management, which may be due to the fact that larger companies need more organized procedures, such as those provided by these quality assurance standards in order to involve the whole staff in the objectives of quality and customer focus.

Finally, the “time span since the implementation of ISO 9001” is a significant variable for all the positive internal and external effects considered, with the exception of those related to external commercial aspects, which seems logical since this benefit, which is referred to fundamentally to comply with a requirement demanded in order to be able to compete in the market, is achieved from the moment the certification of this Standard is achieved. For the rest of the positive effects, the longer the time that has elapsed since the adherence to the Standard, the greater their achievement. This result follows studies of Wilson et al. (2003), Climent (2005), Corbett et al. (2005), Terziovski and Power (2007), Martínez-Costa et al. (2008), Lo et al. (2009) and Castillo et al., 2014a, Castillo et al., 2014b, where the positive influence of this factor derives from the learning curve of the Standard, which is necessary for the appearance of its benefits, especially those related to internal aspects.

Based on all of the above, and as implications for the management of construction companies, whatever their size, it can be concluded that although in this sector, and especially in the civil engineering sub-sector, there is a high level of competitive recruitment, for which having ISO 9001 certification is a basic requirement to be able to compete, it is not enough to implement this regulation exclusively seeking such positive effect. The real improvements in quality and productivity in the work of the companies that can be derived from the implementation of these type of Standards, are obtained only if in addition to obtaining the certification itself, there are other motivations related to achieving real improvements in quality, fundamentally internal ones, which are the ones that will finally allow companies to avoid the usual complaints and penalties of contracts in this sector, and not be excluded in future contracts with the same customers.

Moreover, these companies should be aware that quality improvement is a long-distance race, so that once the implementation of ISO 9001 is done, it is necessary to continue investing resources for the gradual settlement of the basic principles of this Standard in the company (continuous improvement, involvement of the whole company, focus on customers, etc.), so as to ensure a higher level of positive effects resulting from adherence to the Standard.

On the other hand, the results achieved in this study have limitations, which in turn suggest areas for future research. Firstly, the people surveyed were quality managers of participating companies, so their opinions could be biased due to a certain interest in stating that the implementation results were positive. In addition, the “sample error” reflected in the technical specifications of the study is 6.7% (Table 2), i.e. it exceeds 5%, which may imply some kind of limitation to the possibility of extrapolating the results to the whole sector.

Regarding future research, a first line of action could be aimed at avoiding the possible bias of the participants in favor of the standard indicated above, so it would be advisable to extend the scope of research to other groups such as employees in general, customers and suppliers of the company. Another line of future action would be to improve the size of the sample, which would require support from associations in the construction sector (SEOPAN, etc.), or related to quality management (AENOR, AEC, etc.), and thus carry out new empirical studies confirming the conclusions pointed out in this paper.

Moreover, another future line of research could be aimed at analyzing the influence of the factors considered in this work, in relation to the results of another standard, such as ISO 14000 on environmental matters, either individually or through its integration with ISO 9001, comparing the conclusions that would be obtained in this regard.