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Abstract
This paper presents some of the most important findings of studies of the impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certifications on organizations, based on a literature review. The article discusses potential synergistic advantages that can be derived from an integrated quality- environment system and qualitative benefits using ISO 9000 and 14000 certifications. This article also discusses some of the limitations of the current literature and how these can be addressed in the future research.
Keywords: ISO 9000, ISO 14000, quality systems, environmental systems
Introduction
Global competitiveness, an attribute of today's economic scenari`o, lias compelled companies to invest more and more resources into enhancing their management efficiency. This economic and market globalization lias given rise to an increasingly important role of standards. Guasch, Racine, Sánchez, and Diop (2007) and the National Research Council (NRC) (1995) explained the positive economic effects of standards: ability to exploit network externalities, increase productive and innovative efficiency, decrease imperfect information, diffuse infonnation, reduce cost, promote competition, increase compatibility, promote process management, and foster public welfare. These benefits are not mutually exclusive (NRC, 1995). Guasch et al. (2007) stated the contradictory negative economic effects of standards: imposition of constraints on innovation and the decrease of market competition. However, Guasch et al. (2007) concluded that the positive effects of standards outweighed the negative effects.
Approximately 60 programs and awards reward linns for improving quality globally (Wilson, Walsh, & Needy, 2003). The most famous ones are the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Six Sigma, ISO 14000 programs, and ISO 9000 programs (Troy, 1992). Most employers in the United States would want to know if the financial advantages associated with ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 registrations outweigh the costs associated with obtaining these certifications. ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 are not standards in themselves; they are descriptors for series of standards as described in the next sections. The main standards are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, which set out the requirements for achieving efficient quality management and enviromnental management systems, respectively (Morris, 2004). In this article, ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 refer interchangeably to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, respectively.
ISO 9000
The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) was fonned in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1946 to develop international, industrial, and quality...