RAZONES PARA LA DESCERTIFICACION DE LA NORMA ISO 9001. UN ESTUDIO EMPIRICO.
| Autor | Simon, Alexandra |
| Cargo | Gestion y Organizaciones |
RAZOES PARA A DESCERTIFICACAO DA NORMA ISO 9001. UM ESTUDO EMPIRICO
LES RAISONS DE LA DECERTIFICATION DE LA NORME ISO 9001. UNE ETUDE EMPIRIQUE
Reasons for Decertification of ISO 9001. An Empirical Study *
Introduccion
There has been a huge growth in the implementation of management systems and the corresponding certification of standards in the management arena in the past few decades. Management System Standards (MSSS) such as, among others, ISO 9001 for quality management, or ISO 14001 for environmental management, have become very popular. Although implementing such standards is voluntary, in some sectors it has become a de facto mandatory measure required by customers seeking assurance as to the quality of the products or services offered by an organization (Braun, 2005; Bernardo & Simon, 2014).
In particular, ISO 9001 for quality management has become the most recognized and most popular management standard worldwide with more than 1.1 million organizations certified in 2014, according to an ISO survey. The number of ISO 9001 certificates issued has increased exponentially since its inception, although there has been a leveling off during the last few years (ISO, 2014). The 2015 revision of this standard incorporated modern business management practices and quality principles, and can provide companies with significant added value if they choose its implementation (Croft, Fonseca & Domingues, 2016; Domingues et al., 2016).
Research has also examined whether organizations that implement ISO 9001 standard and obtain the certification show any improvements in their financial performance (Manders, De Vries & Blind, 2013; Psomas & Kafetzopoulos, 2014; Sitki-Ilkay & Aslan, 2012). Some studies have found a positive financial effect, primarily through increased sales--stemming from improved customer satisfaction (Chiarini, 2016) and the positive impact of certification in terms of image--, but also due to better operational efficiency (Chatzoglou, Chatzoudes & Kipraios, 2015; Mokhtar & Muda, 2012; Psomas & Pantouvakis, 2015). On the other hand, different authors indicate this link cannot be proven, given the fact that better-performing companies self-select to implement these MSSS and achieve certification (Dick, Heras & Casadesus, 2008; Lo, Yeung & Chen, 2011).
A number of authors (e.g. Aba, Badar & Hayden, 2016; Heras-Saizarbitoria & Boiral, 2013; Tari & Pereira-Moliner, 2012) have described ISO 9001 as a voluntary standard used to accomplish the organizational goals of systematizing and formalizing business processes, translating these to procedures and documenting the systems. Nevertheless, it is agreed it does not "measure" the quality of a company's products or services, but rather sets out certain conditions required to improve quality. In this context, the majority of studies into ISO 9001 have analyzed the benefits that may be obtained from certification and implementation, as well as the challenges and costs companies may face in seeking certification (Heras, Casadesus & Marimon, 2011; Simon, Karapetrovic & Casadesus, 2012). In contrast, very few studies have raised the question of what happens when the costs of ISO 9001 outweigh the benefits and companies decide to withdraw from the standard. Hence the objective of this paper: to examine the reasons that have led a number of companies to decide to decertify from ISO 9001 and show a lack of motivation in seeking certification again.
The paper is structured as follows. First, we review the literature on the benefits and costs of ISO 9001, as well as the few studies available on decertification. Then, we explain the methodology used to analyze the motives behind decertification among a number of Polish companies and compare these results with the decertification phenomenon in other countries. Next, we present a discussion section where we evaluate each of the reasons these companies gave for decertification and develop some propositions for future research. The final section includes some concluding remarks, describes the limitations of this research and proposes other issues for further study.
Literature Review
Benefits versus Costs of ISO 9001 Certification
The implementation of a Quality Management System (QMS) and its certification to ISO 9001 standard has been shown to provide many benefits for companies. The benefits that researchers bestow to this certification include: increased competitiveness through improved efficiency and productivity (Candido, Peixinho & Coelho, 2016; Islam et al, 2016); lower costs of quality (Bernardo et al., 2015; Casadesus & Karapetrovic, 2005) or enhanced customer satisfaction and improved image for stakeholders (Casadesus & Karapetrovic, 2005; Petnji-Yaya, Marimon & Casadesus, 2011; Petnji-Yaya, Marimon & Casadesus, 2014; Heras-Saizarbitoria, Boiral & Arana, 2015). Finally, although certification is not obligatory and organizations can implement ISO 9001 standard without certification, there is a perception that independent confirmation of conformity adds value (Alic, 2014).
In contrast, other studies have found that the implementation of ISO 9001 does not necessarily lead to more competitiveness (Grolleau, Mzoughi & Pekovic, 2013). Besides, organizations that certify the system must bear the costs of certification (Kafel & Nowicki, 2014), which include the financial costs, the difficult alignment of these new management practices to the firm's culture and the changes to the organizational structure, and a commitment in human resources (Boys & Wilcock, 2014; Casadesus & Karapetrovic, 2005; Heras-Saizarbitoria & Boiral, 2013; Ismyrlis & Moschidis, 2015; Psomas & Antony, 2015; Psomas, Fotopoulos & Kafetzopoulos, 2011; Sampaio, Saraiva & Guimaraes-Rodrigues, 2009). Moreover, studies have not encountered a clear relationship between ISO 9001 and positive financial results. Therefore, unless certification is not confidently associated with corporate financial performance, it may be considered as just another management trend (Santos, Costa & Leal, 2012; Sharma, 2005).
Two Recent Phenomena: Saturation versus Decertification
Despite the exponential growth of ISO 9001 certificates during the past few decades, an opposite trend seems to be emerging recently (ISO, 2014). Several studies suggest that the impact of ISO 9001 certification has diminished, and although the number of certifications has continued to grow globally, it is no longer growing at the same pace; in fact, in some countries it has even declined. This slowdown is suggested in a number of studies in this field (Bernardo & Simon, 2014; Casadesus & Karapetrovic, 2005; Gianni & Gotzamani, 2015; Heras-Saizarbitoria, Boiral & Arana, 2016; Llach, Marimon & Bernardo, 2011; Marimon, Heras & Casadesus, 2009; Nowicki et al., 2014; Sampaio et al., 2009; Sampaio, Saraiva & Ribeiro, 2014). This phenomenon of saturation is accompanied by another trend: an increase in decertification rates.
In addition, more and more companies, although not decertified, are uncertain about the prospects of certification and maintain the certificate primarily for external reasons such as company image and reputation, or supplier and customer requirements. It appears that losing the certificate can negatively impact the organization's reputation (Bernardo & Simon, 2014).
However, until now, very few studies have empirically analyzed the phenomena of saturation and decertification. With regard to saturation, some studies have focused on analyzing the trends in certification in different countries and sectors using logistic curves in order to predict the behavior of certification. Such studies look at the intensity of certification and the trends by country, region, industrial sector and other classifications, showing a clear stagnation in the number of certifications (Castka & Corbett, 2013; Llach et al., 2011; Marimon et al., 2009).
A study by Alic (2014) examined the relationship between decertification and financial performance in Slovenia. Nevertheless, given the initial investment in terms of effort, time and resources that companies need to make in order to obtain an international standard such as ISO 9001, the question of why these companies decide to decertify naturally arises. However, very little research has been carried out to answer this question. Among the few studies that explore the reasons for decertification we find diverse results pointing in different directions, such as the failure of audits (Marimon et al., 2009) or the lack of government support (Simon et al., 2012). As far as we know, there are only three empirical studies that have analyzed in detail the reasons for decertification. The first is a study by Alcala (2013), who offers an exploratory approximation of this issue with a case study analysis of companies in the paper sector. This author finds that the main reason for abandoning the certificates is the cost of implementation and renovation, which determines the renewal of ISO 9001 to a large extent. A second paper, by Kafel and Nowicki (2014), empirically explores the reasons of decertification with regard to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Through a case study analysis of seven Polish...
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