Motivation and benefits of implementation and certification according ISO 9001 – the Portuguese experience

Abstract

The aim of the research is to analyze the different aspects associated with the motivation and benefits of certified ISO 9001 companies in Portugal. A total of 426 certified Portuguese companies were surveyed. The response rate was equal to 61.03 percent. Our results suggest that the main motivation for certification were "improvement of quality", "improvement of company image", "marketing advantage", "give empowerment to workers / capturing workers knowledge" and "cost reduction". The main benefits that Portuguese companies have gained from the referred certification have been, among others, the improvement of "procedures", beneficial effect on the "company's image", the improvement of quality products/services, increase of the "customer satisfaction", improvement of "on-time delivery"; improvement the "morale" of workers' increase in productivity and decrease of "production costs", among others. The surveyed firms belong only to the Minho region of the north of Portugal. This paper aims to provide a contribution to the research related to the motivation and benefits associated to the quality management systems. The selection of the motives and benefits were validated through statistical analysis and the relationship between expected and perceived benefits was discussed.

Motivational factors for the adoption of ISO 9001 standards in Eastern Europe: the case of Bulgaria

“…In line with the results presented in Table 8 and the criteria for the verification of hypothesis 3 outlined in Table 6, we accept H3, which states a positive correlation between the motivations (internal/external) for and benefits (internal/external) of ISO 9001 certification in Bulgaria. A number of studies from the last fifteen years or so have exhibited similar results (see Gotzamani & Tsiotras, 2002;Poksinska et al, 2002;Williams, 2004;Martínez-Costa et al, 2008;Kaziliūnas, 2010;Santos & Millán, 2013).…”

“…Nevertheless, based on the limited information about the quality movement in Bulgaria, hereby we will assert a number of findings based on few local studies. Santos and Millán (2013), Dongmo and Onojaefe (2013), etc. Moreover, like the motivations (internal/external), the ISO 9001 certification benefits can be classified into internal a n d external (Buttle, 1997;Brown et al, 1998;Ragothaman & Korte, 1999;Liebesman, 2002;Corbett, Luca & Pan, 2003;Bhuiyan & Alam, 2004;Van der Wiele, Iwaarden, Williams & Dale, 2005;Sampaio et al, 2010;etc.…”

Modelling and Enhancement of Organizational Resilience Potential in Process Industry SMEs

“…This problem correlates with one of the requirements of ISO 9001:2008 which is defined as continuous improvement [44]. The objective function minimizes the difference between wanted and accomplished resilience, which was improved for the determined coefficient α.…”

Critical analysis of information about integrated management systems and environmental policy on the Portuguese firms' website, towards sustainable development

“…The areas (descriptors) that involve and integrate the organization, such as: quality, environment, safety, economy, society, among others, as well as stakeholders are represented in the model as mechanical gears that promote and influence the firm's movements toward sustainable development (SD; Tsai & Chou, ; Costa, Barbosa, Santos, & Alves, ; Bravi, Murmura, & Santos, ). These thematic areas incorporated in the firm are guided and directed under national and international references (legal and standard requirements), which promote the implementation of management systems, supported on the principles of the methodology PDCA (Araújo, Santos, Costa, & Sá, ; Marques, Lopes, Santos, Delgado, & Delgado, ; Santos & Barbosa, ; Santos & Milán, ; Santos, Murmura, & Bravi, ).…”