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ISO Management Systems January-February 2003 31
Global perspectives onglobal standards
a 15-economy survey ofISO 9000 and ISO 14000
This article summarizes findings obtained from a survey of 5 398 ISO 9000 and ISO 14000certified firms in 15 economies in North America, Europe and Asia. It compares motivationsand benefits, and how these differ across countries and business sectors.
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
BY CHARLES J. CORBETT,ANASTASIA M. LUCA , AND JEH -NAN PAN
hat does it mean to be a
global standard? Of course,the requirements of the standardshould be the same in whatever
country it is applied which isthe case for I SO 9000 and ISO14000. But most people, inreferring to standards being
global, would also expect themto be adopted for similar rea-sons and in similar ways acrosscountries, hence leading to sim-
ilar benefits. A re ISO 9000 andISO 14000 global in that sense of
the word?To investigate that question, we
conducted a survey among certifiedfirms in 15 economies, asking themabout their motivations for seeking
certification, and about implemen-tation issues and benefits experi-enced.The survey was administeredduring 1999-2001.This article sum-
marizes the principal findings. Thefull survey is available from theauthors.
In particular, we examinewhether motivations and benefitsdiffer across countries and/oracross business sectors. I f we would
find that firms in France soughtISO 9000 certification for substan-tially different reasons than firmsin Taiwan, regardless of their sec-
tor of activity, and experiencedsubstantially different benefits,we might infer that ISO 9000 inFrance does not mean the
same as ISO 9000 in Taiwan.Conversely, if we would
find that chemical firms acrossdifferent countries report simi-
lar motivations for certificationand comparable benefits, though
perhaps different from thosereported by firms in the electronicsindustry,we would have more faithin the view of ISO 9000 as beingtruly global. Below, we present a
summary of the survey sample, fol-lowed by an analysis of motiva-tions, implementation,and benefits,both by country and by sector.
Profile of survey sample
The survey was administered in15 economies by a network of localpartners who were responsible fortranslating the survey, obtaining
We examine whether
motivations and benefits
differ across countriesand/or across
business sectors
W
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S P E C I A L R E P O R T
address lists of certified companies,administering the survey, and enter-ing the responses.
A total of 5 398 firms responded
to the survey. Responses for somecountries were grouped together forthe rest of the analysis presented
here, as their samplesize was too small tobe treated separate-ly:Australia and New
Zealand were com-bined and attributedthe abbreviation ofA NZ; and Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philip-
pines, Singapore, and Thailand werecombined into South-East A sia(SEA).
A part from these two groupings,to which we have assigned unoffi-cial abbreviations of their names for
the purposes of this article, the othereconomies are identified in the graphcharts by the codes assigned in theInternational Standard for country
codes, ISO 31661).
The economies surveyed were:Australia (A NZ),Canada (CA ),France
(FR), Hong Kong (HK ), Indonesia(SEA ), Japan (J P), Republic of Korea
(KR), Malaysia (SEA ), New Zealand(A NZ), Philippines (SEA ), Singapore(SEA ), Sweden (SE), Taiwan (TW),
Thailand (SEA),Unit-ed States (U S).
The breakdown ofresponses by econo-my isshowninTable1.
The breakdown of
responses by industrysector is displayedin Figure 1.
Motivations for seeking ISO 9000 orISO 14000 certification
Let us turn to the motivations forseeking ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 cer-tification. Respondents were asked to
rate, on a five-point scale,how impor-tant each of a set of 11 possible moti-vations was in their decision to seekcertification.
The food industry
reports the highest scores
for seeking
quality improvements
Table 1: Response ratesby economy
Total 21 427 5 398 25,19 % 5 264 1 400
US (US) 5 000 939 18,78% 906 178
Thailand (SEA) 200 15 7,50% 15 4
Taiwan (TW) 2142 456 21,29% 446 223
Sweden (SE) 268 135 50,37% 135 51
Singapore (SEA) 200 15 7,50% 13 10
Philippines (SEA) 200 53 26,50% 51 16
New Zealand (ANZ) 288 61 21,18% 57 13
Malaysia (SEA) 200 10 5,00% 10 4
Korea (KR) 1 361 120 8,82% 2 221 575
Japan (JP) 5 000 2 261 45,22% 114 72
Indonesia (SEA) 200 9 4,50% 7 3
Hong Kong (HK) 1 200 131 10,92% 124 20
France (FR) 2 000 445 22,25% 440 29
Canada (CA) 561 198 35,29% 185 110
Australia (ANZ) 2 607 550 21,10% 540 92
Country Numberof formsmailed
Number ofusable
responsesreceived
Responserate
ISO 9000 ISO 14000
1) For more information on
ISO 3166, see the followinglocation on the ISO Web site:http://www.iso.org/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/index.html
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ISO Management Systems January-February 2003 33
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
In some countries, respondents
have a tendency to report high scoresacross the board, while others tend tobe more modest. To correct for that,we compute relative motivations,
by dividing each respondents scorefor each motivation by the sum of thescores for all motivations for thatrespondent. That way, for each
respondent, all motivations must addup to 1.
Figures 2 and 3 show how themotivations for ISO 9000 vary across
countries and sectors. A lthough thecharts contain too much informationto be easy to read, some trends areclear.
Overall, the main motivations forseeking ISO 9000 certification arequality improvements and corpo-
rate image, and to a slightly lesserextent, marketing advantage andcustomer pressure. This patternreturns both when looking across
countries or across sectors.The food industry reports the
highest scores for seeking qualityimprovements and for capturing
workers knowledge, suggesting thatfirms in this industry were the mostmotivated by process-related rea-sons.
The textile industry reports thehighest score for seeking cost reduc-tions. Firms in the semiconductorindustry reported the highest scores
for customer pressure and manycompetitors certified,suggesting thatthe external pressure for ISO 9000
certification is most strongly felt in
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40% Figure 1: Breakdown bybusiness sector
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14
Figure 2: Motivations forseeking ISO 9000
certification by economy
Communica
tions
Compute
requip
ment o
r
orperiphe
rals
Electro
nics
Semico
nducto
rs
Mecha
nical
Auto
matio
nFo
od
Plastic
Chem
ical
Textile
Metal
Pharmac
eutic
al
Othe
rs
ANZ
CA
FR
HK
JP
KR
SEA
SE
TW
US
Cost reductions
Qualityimprovements
Marketingadvantage
Customer pressure
Many competitorscertified
Benefits experi-enced by others
Avoid potentialexport barrier
Capturing workersknowledge
Relations withauthorities
Corporate image
Relations withcommunities
ISO 9000
ISO 14000
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34 ISO Management Systems January-February 2003
that sector. Respondents in the foodsector gave the lowest score for manycompetitors certified. However, oneshould be careful not to read too muchinto these differences between indus-
tries. Perhaps the most striking obser-vation is how similar the relative moti-vations are across such fundamentallydifferent activities.
Figures 4 and 5 show that theanalysis for ISO 14000 is similar tothat for I SO 9000.
The main motivations for seekingISO 14000 certification are environ-mental improvements and corpo-rate image and, to a lesser extent,
marketing advantage and improved
relations with communities.Customer pressure scores lower for
ISO 14000 than for I SO 9000.Firms in the industrial automationsector expect to achieve the highestmarketing advantage, and experi-
ence the most customer pressureto seek certification. The communi-cations and semiconductor sectorsgive the highest scores to many
competitors certified. Respondentsin the pharmaceutical industry wereconsiderably more motivated byimproving relations with authori-
ties for both ISO 9000 and ISO14000; they were also the least moti-vated by achieving cost reduc-tions.The same note applies here as
The categories in which
firms report receiving
the highest benefits from
ISO 9000 certification are
quality improvements,
customer satisfaction,
improved procedures and
corporate image
Costreductions
Qualityimprovements
Marketingadvantage
Customerpressure
Manycompetitors
certified
Benefits
experienced byothers
Avoid potentialexport barrier
Capturing workersknowledge
Relations withauthorities
Corporateimage
Pharmaceutical
Relations withcommunities
Others
Textile
Metal
Plastic
Chemical
Automation
Food
Mechanical
Electronics
Semiconductors
Communications
Computer equipmentor peripherals
Figure 3: Motivations for seekingISO 9000 certification by businesssector
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
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ISO Management Systems January-February 2003 35
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14
Pharmaceutic
al
Othe
rs
Textile
Metal
Plastic
Chem
ical
Auto
mation
Food
Mecha
nical
Electronics
Communicatio
ns
Compute
requipm
ent
orperiphe
rals
Semico
nducto
rs
Figure 4: Motivations for seekingISO 14000 certification by economy
Figure 5: Motivationsfor seeking
ISO 14000 certification by business activity
Costreductions
Environmentalimprovements
Marketingadvantage
Customer
pressure
Manycompetitorscertified
Benefitsexperienced byothers
Avoid potentialexport barrier
Capturing workersknowledge
Relations withauthorities
Corporateimage
Relations withcommunities
Cost reductions
Environmentalimprovements
Marketingadvantage
Customer pressure
Many competitorscertified
Benefits experi-enced by others
Avoid potentialexport barrier
Capturing workersknowledge
Relationswith
authorities
Corporateimage
Relationswith
communities
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
ANZ CA FR HK JP KR SEA SE TW US
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36 ISO Management Systems January-February 2003
for I SO 9000: the similarities in rela-tive motivations between sectors areperhaps the most striking observa-tion from Figure 5.
Proportion of employees trained
We asked the respondents whatpercentage of their employeesreceived training again on a five-
point scale ranging from one, indicat-
ing 0-20% of employees, to five, indi-cating 81-100%.Figures 6and7showthe average responses to this ques-
tion, by country and by sector.The proportion of employees
trained was generally similar for I SO
9000 and ISO 14000;overall, in mostcountries, the proportion trained for
ISO 14000 was slightly higher. Thismay reflect the fact that ISO 14000
more often covers an entire site orcompany, while ISO 9000 certifica-tions could have more limited scope.
More striking is the variationacross countries: firms in Canada,
Sweden, and the US report trainingthe highest proportion of employees,with those in J apan and Koreareporting the lowest proportions. A s
always, one needs to be careful ininterpreting such findings as an indi-cation that implementation has beenmore or less thorough in certain
countries, as there is always a possi-bility of country-level differences insurvey response behaviour. For
instance, respondents in Japan maysimply be more likely to provide acautious estimate of the proportionof employees trained, while those in
Canada might apply a looser defini-tion of training. However, thesedifferences are striking enough to
warrant further investigation.There is more consistency in theproportion of employees trainedacross sectors than there is acrosscountries. A gain, most firms report
slightly higher degrees of training forISO 14000 than for ISO 9000.
Benefits of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000certification
We asked the respondents how
much benefit they had received fromcertification for 13 categories, on afive-point scale, ranging from one for
no benefits to five for very sub-stantial benefits. The results for I SO9000 are shown in Figures 8and 9, bycountry and by sector;Figures 10and
11 (page 38) show the analogousresults for ISO 14000.
Overall, the categories in which
firms report receiving the highestbenefits from ISO 9000 certification
are quality improvements, cus-tomer satisfaction, improved pro-
cedures and corporate image.
ISO 9000
ISO 14000
Figure 6: Proportionof employees trained
by economy
Figure 7: Proportionof employees trained
by business sector
Communic
atio
ns
Compute
requip
ment o
r
orperiph
erals
Electronics
Semicond
ucto
rs
Mechanica
l
Autom
atio
nFo
od
Plastic
Che
mica
l
Textil
e
Metal
Pharmace
utica
l
Othe
rs
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
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ISO Management Systems January-February 2003 37
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14
Figure 8: Benefits from ISO 9000certification by economy
Figure 9: Benefits from ISO 9000certification by business sector
Pharmaceutical
Others
Textile
Metal
Plastic
Chemical
Automation
F
ood
Mechanical
Electronics
Communicatio
ns
Computer
equipment
orperipherals
Semiconductors
ANZ
CA
FR
HK
JP
KR
SEA
SE
TW
US
Cost reductions
Productivity
Quality
Environmental
On-time delivery
Customersatisfaction
Market share
Profit margin
Procedures
Authorities
Morale
Communities
Image
Costreductions
Product-ivity
Quality
Environ-
mental
On-timedelivery
Customersatisfaction
Market share
Profit margin
Procedures
Authorities
Morale
Communities
Image
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
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0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14
Figure 10: Benefits from ISO 14000certification by economy
Figure 11: Benefits from ISO 14000certification by business sector
Pharmaceutical
Others
Textile
Metal
Plastic
Chemical
Automation
Food
Mechanical
Electronics
Communicatio
ns
Computer
equipment
orperipherals
Semicond
uctors
ANZ
CA
FR
HK
JP
KR
SEA
SE
TW
US
Cost reductions
Productivity
Quality
Environmental
On-time delivery
Customersatisfaction
Market share
Profit margin
Procedures
Authorities
Morale
Communities
Image
Costreductions
Product-ivity
Quality
Environ-
mental
On-timedelivery
Customersatisfaction
Market share
Profit margin
Procedures
Authorities
Morale
Communities
Image
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
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ISO Management Systems January-February 2003 39
The pattern is fairly consistentacross countries, with some excep-
tions. Firms in the US report relative-ly high benefits from improved pro-
cedures, followedby firms in Australia,Canada, and France.
Japanese firms reportconsiderably higher
benefits in employ-ee morale thanfirms in other coun-tries. Respondents in
Hong Kong reporthigher benefits fromimproved relations
with authorities.The pattern is
also quite constantacross sectors,exceptthat pharmaceutical firms report con-
siderably higher benefits fromimproved relations with authorities.
This reflects the fact that the pharma-ceutical industry is subject to far
more stringent quality regulations bygovernment agencies than firms inother business sectors.
Overall, the key benefits obtained
from ISO 14000 certification areimproved environmental perform-
ance and improved corporate image,followed by improved procedures,
relations with authorities, and rela-tions with communities. Firms in
Canada and the US report the highest
benefits from improved procedures.The same pattern arises when bro-
ken down by sector. Textile firms
report the largestcost reductions fromISO 14000 certifi-cation. Pharmaceu-tical respondents
report the highestbenefits from im-proved relations withauthorities, and the
lowest benefits withrespect to employeemorale and corpo-
rate image.
Conclusion
By and large, the patterns we findare consistent across countries, formost of the factors we study. Thoughthere are, inevitably, variations across
countries, these differences are rela-tively small and certainly not largeenough to indicate substantially dif-ferent versions of management sys-
tems built on ISO 9000 or ISO 14000.
The one notable exception is the
proportion of employees trained.Here, we find substantial variation
across countries, which calls for fur-ther examination. I f this reflects dif-
ferences in interpretation of the sur-vey question across countries, there is
The authors
Dr. Jeh-Nan(Jack) Pan isProfessor andChairman ofthe Depart-ment ofStatistics of
the School ofManagement
at National Cheng Kung Universityin Tainan, Taiwan.
E-mail [email protected]
Dr. Charles J.Corbett isAssistantProfessor ofDecisions,Operationsand Techno-
logy Manage-ment at the
Anderson School at UCLA, California,USA.
E-mail [email protected]
Dr. AnastasiaM. Luca isPostdoctoralScholar at theAndersonSchool atUCLA.
E-mail [email protected]
The key benefits obtained
from ISO 14000 certification
are improved environmental
performance and improved
corporate image, followed
by improved procedures,
relations with authorities,
and relations with
communities
S P E C I A L R E P O R T
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of course no problem. However, if itreflects true differences in breadth
and depth of implementation of ISO9000 and ISO 14000, that might cast
some doubt on the assertion that thestandards are truly implemented in a
standardized manner worldwide.It is instructive to compare the
motivations for seek-
ing certification withthe benefits achieved.Recall that the mainmotivations for seek-
ing ISO 9000 certifica-tion were qualityimprovements, mar-
keting advantage andcorporate image.Theseexpectations are, byand large, met: themain benefits experi-
enced are qualityimprovements, improv-ed customer satisfaction, and
improved image.The same is true forISO 14000.
However, two points are worth not-ing. Firstly, the improved customer
satisfaction does not appear to lead toequally large benefits in terms of mar-ket share or profit margin. This mayreflect the fact that ISO 9000 certifica-
tion is often considered a require-
ment. Having the certification doesnot actually increase market share orprofits, but not having it will lead to a
decrease in market share or profitabil-
ity.Secondly,perhaps the most impor-
tant ISO 9000 benefit of all is
improved procedures. The survey didnot explicitly askabout improved pro-
cedures as a motiva-tion for seeking certi-fication, but anecdotalevidence from inter-
views with certifiedfirms suggest that, in
many cases, thesebenefits were not
anticipated, but prov-ed very helpful.
This is, in fact,characteristic of any
structured processimprovement effort: one does notknow in advance how the efforts willpay off, but following a structured
and disciplined approach almostinevitably does lead to valuableprocess improvements.
Following
a structured and
disciplined approach
almost inevitably
does lead
to valuable process
improvements
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to ISO Central Secretariat
(www.iso.org), to the University of CaliforniaPacific Rim Research Program, and to the Centerfor International Business Education andResearch at the Anderson School at UCLA fortheir financial support, and to WorldPreferred(www.worldpreferred.com ) for sharing theNorth American certification data with us.
We are also very grateful to our survey partners:Mile Terziovski, Rob Klassen, Olivier Aptel, TY Lee,
Kazuhiro Asakawa, Phares Parayno, Carlos Romero,
Hosun Rhim, and Jens Dahlgaard. We would alsolike to acknowledge the excellent research assis-tance provided by Theresa Jones, Susana Medina,and Mara J. Montes.
Finally, we are of course highly grateful to therespondents for sharing their ISO 9000 and ISO14000 experiences with us.
S P E C I A L R E P O R T