Suchergebnisse

"Das vorliegende Papier ist ein Beitrag zur Literatur über den Zusammenhang
zwischen der Standardisierung und dem internationalen Handel, untersucht
anhand der Verbindung zwischen der ISO 9000 Normierung und bilateralen
Exportumsätzen. Über die Auswirkung von ISO 9000 auf den internationalen
Handel existiert eine rege Debatte. Einerseits wurde argumentiert, dass die ISO
9000 Normen eine 'gemeinsame Sprache' bilden, die die Informationsasymmetrie
zwischen Unternehmen mindert und dadurch einen effizienteren
Handel zwischen ihnen gewährt. Andererseits wurde ISO 9000 kritisiert als ein
Mittel zur Einführung eines Marktzugangshemmnisses und als eine Steuer auf
den internationalen Handel. Um die tatsächliche Auswirkung zu beurteilen,
schätzen wir eine Gravitätsgleichung für die bilateralen Exportumsätze, die die
nationalen Einführungszahlen von ISO 9000 als Determinanten der
beidseitigen Handelshemmnisse berücksichtigt. Die Endogenitätsproblematik
wird sorgfältig behandelt. Um zusätzliche Einsichten zu gewinnen, schätzen wir
getrennt eine Gleichung der weltweiten Diffusion von ISO 9000. Unsere
Ergebnisse bestätigen im Allgemeinen die Hypothese der 'gemeinsamen
Sprache', d.h. die empirischen Überprüfungen stellen fest, dass sich die
inländischen sowie auch die ausländischen Einführungszahlen dieser Normen
positiv auf die Exportumsätze der Handelspartner auswirken. Außerdem finden
wir Anzeichen eines Substitutionseffektes, da die mit ISO 9000 zertifizierten
Unternehmen zu mehr Handel mit anderen zertifizierten Unternehmen neigen
als mit nicht zertifizierten Unternehmen. Folglich ist die positive Auswirkung der
ISO 9000 Normierung auf den Handel zwischen den Ländern mit einer hohen
Normierungsquote stärker ausgeprägt." (Autorenreferat)

This paper presents the results of an empirical study on the contribution of ISO 9000 standards towards total quality management (TQM). The paper is a continuation of the authors' research on the ISO 9000 standards effectiveness and capability as an entry key to TQM. The literature review of the above issue revealed the need for a formal empirical study to resolve the existing debate about the standards' long‐term contribution and true value to ISO 9000‐certified companies. For the purposes of this study, a TQM measurement instrument was developed and tested for its reliability and validity to measure TQM performance improvement in certified companies in Greek industry. This performance improvement was then used to test the basic research hypothesis: "Can ISO 9000 standards provide a good first step towards TQM?". The results of the study are presented in eight basic TQM categories, showing the certified companies' performance improvement in the basic elements of each category, and revealing their strengths and weaknesses on their way to TQM.

"Die Folgen der Verbreitung des ISO 9000 Standards auf den Außenhandel und ausländische Direktinvestitionen wurden bislang noch nicht ausreichend untersucht. In diesem Papier werden Datensätze von OECD-Mitgliedsstaaten im Zeitraum von 1995-2002 verwendet, um die Auswirkung von ISO-Einführungen auf bilaterale Außenhandelsaktivitäten zu untersuchen. Es zeigt sich, dass die Anwendung der ISO-Norm keine Auswirkungen auf den Handel zwischen entwickelten Ländern hat. In Entwicklungsländern dagegen führt die Einführung der ISO 9000 Norm dazu, dass die ins Land geholten ausländischen Direktinvestitionen (FDI) steigen und dass der Außenhandel - messbar an der Steigerung des Exportvolumens - positiv beeinflusst wird." (Autorenreferat)

"Zunehmend mehr Unternehmen können ein Zertifikat vorweisen, das bestätigt, dass ihr Qualitätsmanagementsystem den Forderungen der DIN EN ISO 9000er Normen genügt. Die Normen allerdings stehen in der Kritik; ihre Wirkung im Hinblick auf eine Verbesserung der Effizienz wird massiv bezweifelt. Der wesentliche Grund für ihre Verbreitung scheint zu sein, dass die Kunden ein zertifiziertes Qualitätsmanagementsystem verlangen. Vor diesem Hintergrund drängt sich eine Untersuchung des Phänomens "ISO 9000" aus der Perspektive des Neo-Instutionalistischen Ansatzes auf. Im Neo- Institutionalistischen Ansatz wird die Ausgestaltung der formalen Struktur weniger als Ergebnis eines Bemühens um Effizienz, sondern vielmehr als Anpassung an Erwartungen in der Umwelt der Organisation interpretiert. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die Ergebnisse einer empirischen Studie über die Gründe des Erwerbs eines ISO 9000- Zertifikats und über die Auswirkungen der Umsetzung der Normenforderungen auf die formale Struktur und die Arbeitsprozesse von Unternehmen präsentiert. Wichtige Ergebnisse sind, dass die Realisierung der Normenforderungen in den meisten Unternehmen einerseits - wie von der Neo-Institutionalistischen Theorie vorausgesagt - den Aufbau einer Legitimationsfassade zur Folge hatte, dass aber andererseits im Verlaufe der Umsetzung die in einem Qualitätsmanagementsystem nach den DIN EN ISO 9000er Normen steckenden Potentiale für den Aufbau eines Kontrollsystems entdeckt und genutzt wurden." (Autorenreferat)

This article examines the impact of ISO 9000 upon different national production regimes. It asks how ISO 9000 has influenced the reorganization of industry, and how this reorganization has affected the production systems of different advanced industrial countries, in this case France and Germany. The paper argues that within the wider context of increased international competition within the car industry, ISO 9000 technical norms have facilitated a modernization of supplier network practices and work organization in both countries. Yet, at the same time, the implementation of ISO 9000-based quality management systems within firms and the reorganization of relationships across firms have tended to reproduce the previously existing architectures of authority and risk distribution, but within the context of modernized technical practices. In France, the quality standards reproduced, while modernizing, the underlying Taylorist company organization and the hierarchical links between final assemblers and their suppliers. In Germany, in contrast, ISO 9000 norms became embedded within new production concepts that reinforced the autonomy of skilled workers. In inter-firm relationships, they act as an informal insurance clause against new liability risks associated with network forms of organization, thus safeguarding the autonomy of small firms.

In this paper we examine technical and internal organizational contingencies which encourage and discourage the adoption of institutionalized structural elements, namely ISO 9000 standards. The results show that the extent of customized production and a dominant influence of top management on quality control decisions reduce the likelihood of adopting ISO 9000 standards. However, the latter factor changes its influence significantly with greater organizational size and administrative intensity — two entities which increase the pressure to adapt to external expectations.

PurposeIn an economic environment characterized in recent years by globalization and the integration of economic processes, standardization in management systems has had a high growth. In this context, there has been a remarkable increase in certain standards, or norms, issued by international organizations. Among these standards, two main groups stand out, both issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO): one for quality management systems – the family of ISO 9000 standards – and the other for environmental management systems – the ISO 14000 standards. This paper aims to analyze the world wide diffusion process of these two standards, using data provided by the ISO itself.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology proposed is developed in four separate phases. The first two analyze the diffusion model over time with a model based on the logistic curve proposed by Franceschiniet al.The next two phases analyze whether the diffusion process has proceeded in a relatively homogeneous way in the different sectors of activity. In order to do that, the use of indices of concentration and instability has been carried out.FindingsThe conclusion is that the diffusion of both standards is very similar – in general and in terms of the different sectors. This result coincides with certain hypotheses formulated in the theoretical literature.Originality/valueThis is the first paper where it can be demonstrated that, world‐wide, both the ISO 14000 and the ISO 9000 standards have followed very similar patterns of diffusion in their expansion.

AbstractSince 1990, many U.S. firms have registered under the provisions of the ISO 9000 standard. Meeting the qualifications of this registration requires considerable time and money. To this point, the justification has been put in terms of management commitment to quality, cost reduction, or opening new markets, particularly international markets. We contribute by examining the reaction of the firms' stock price to the announcement of ISO 9000 registration. We find that for the smallest firms, ISO 9000 registration is regarded as positive information by investors. We also find that the market reaction to ISO 9000 registration is sensitive to the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.

Adopted by an increasing number of organizations around the world, the ISO 9000 standards have become a growing concern for more and more managers who are often compelled to adopt this system without really knowing its requirements and implications for employees. Though the effects of this standard on quality management and on performance improvement have been widely debated, there is little knowledge of how the managers and employees who are asked to implement and maintain it perceive the ISO 9000 standards or resist its use. This study will thus attempt to analyze this perception and resistance with regard to both the standard and the certification process. So as to avoid the traditional and idealised view of this standard, whose commercial stakes often give rise to uncritical statements, almost 50 interviews were conducted outside of the workplace. The results of these interviews revealed highly contrasting attitudes that were frequently critical of the ISO 9000 system, which was often given only superficial support. A qualitative analysis of the data allowed us to identify three types of respondents. They were grouped according to their opinions and attitudes about the implementation of this standard. The three groups were ceremonial integrators, quality enthusiasts and dissidents. Although the "quality enthusiasts" discourse often reflects managers' "rhetoric of success" described by Zbaracki (1998) about the implementation of total quality programs, this rhetoric is not shared by the other respondent categories. Hence, this research project contributes to a better understanding of how institutional pressures, which create "isomorphic" organizations by leading them to adopt identical management models, are reinterpreted, renegotiated, and modified within organizations. The proposed typology casts doubt on the mechanistic, consensual, and monolithic view of the ISO 9000 system that underlies most of the work on this theme. In particular, this study demonstrates the relevance of adopting both the institutionalist and critical approaches in efforts to explain the respondents' opinions. In so doing, the personnel's support for the ISO 9000 system and the certification process can then be analyzed from different angles. This certification process would ultimately appear to be a rite of passage that gives rise to various strategies that depend on the respondents' category and their support for the standard.

The ISO 9000 standard for quality management systems was accepted by the International Organisation for Standardisation in 1987. Since then, large companies and SMEs have been obliged to open their doors to something new, "the culture of quality", a message that is very often associated with the initials of this well‐known standard. Currently, there are more than 6,000 companies with this certificate in Spain, but they have not always obtained the same results. This paper gives the results of empirical research into 502 Spanish companies to determine the benefits of the implementation of this standard. By means of cluster analysis it was found that different typologies of companies exist. Also, nearly 65 per cent of the companies certified in Spain have obtained substantial internal and external benefits.