Purpose – To provide a cross‐section of International Standardization Organization (ISO) 9000 quality certification diffusion over time and its impact on industrial systems. Design/methodology/approach – The starting point of the analysis is “The ISO survey of ISO 9000 and ISO 14001...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors (CFs) of ISO 14000; to determine if ISO 14000 certification results in improved organizational performance; and to analyze the levels of and changes in these CFs and levels of and changes in the indicators of organizational...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a research for developing a standard to implement a process management system in a whole supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – To gain this aim, the research has been developed in two parts. The quality management part...

Purpose – China's increasing importance as a major global supplier has coincided in recent years with a number of disturbing cases of quality fade (sudden unexpected deteriorations in agreed quality levels) adversely impacting consumer safety, welfare and brand equity. The most effective...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether investment in a quality system leads to process management. Do firms that have invested in documenting their processes in a quality system also manage their processes? Design/methodology/approach – The research question is...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of the paradoxical situation in which standard setters are placed when standardising human practice. Contrary to standards, human practices are ambiguous, heterogeneous, and highly context dependent; in contrast, standards...

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to study the reasons for the adoption and certification of quality systems and the subsequent impacts on performance. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology selected is a study based on the perceptions of two hotel managers in Spain. Findings – On...

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of quality certifications on apparent labour productivity in a sample of hotels in Spain. Design/methodology/approach – In line with Mairesse and Kremp (1993), the theoretical model was based on a Cobb–Douglas production...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of the application of standards and their positive influence on the efficiency and competitiveness of Slovenian logistics service providers. Moreover, an analysis was also done on the relationship between the adoption of the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the requirements for assuring the managerial capability of organisations implementing projects of public interest. It presents the case of Greece, and the family of newly developed set of standards concerning the managerial maturity of public...