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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the expectations for ISO 9001 certification in a group of small- and medium-sized enterprises, then to assess the reasons for their subsequent abandonment of the certification and the long-term impacts of that decision. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study come from longitudinal case studies involving a series of questionnaires, in-depth on-site interviews and informal conversations with top managers of 22 firms in the heating technology service industry in Poland. The research process was conducted in three stages. The first stage occurred in the Summer of 2008 in which a broad analysis was conducted of the impact of ISO 9001 certification on the functioning of the organizations. The second stage was conducted in 2012, to gather the information about the organizations that subsequently abandoned their ISO 9001 certification. The third stage was carried out in 2016 to examine the longer-term impact of ISO 9001 certification abandonment in these organizations. Findings The main motivation for study participants obtaining ISO 9001 certification centred around market visibility and gaining new customers rather than on lowering operating costs or improving quality. Managers also expected certification to improve organization documentation. The decision to abandon certification had to do with lack of time for improvement efforts and questionable cost-benefit that could lead to higher prices. Certification was considered unnecessary to achieve the goals of the organization. In retrospect, only a small percentage (20 per cent) of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the sample group felt that abandoning ISO 9001 certification was largely the correct decision. A majority (53 per cent) thought it was largely a regrettable decision. Research limitations/implications The research is based on a limited number of case studies for smaller organizations in one purchasing group in industry rather than on a large cross-section of different organizations sizes and types. Therefore, the ability to draw statistical inferences is limited and the results may not generalize to other settings. However, this appears to be one of the few studies of its kind on voluntary abandonment of the certification. Practical implications It is important for business managers to understand not only the reasons supporting initial certification, but the rationale that organizations cite for abandonment of the certification and the long-term impacts of that decision. Originality/value A study of voluntary ISO 9001 certification abandonment appears to be relatively absent in the literature. This research opens a new area of research into the assessment of potential consequences of abandoning the certification.

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