Effectiveness of ISO 9001 System Implementation in Japanese Companies

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) management systems are represented by ISO 9001:2000. Since the establishment of the ISO 9000 series in 1984, many manufacturers in Japan that perform international transactions have adopted the ISO management systems, and now, companies in various industries, including those in the service sector, have implemented ISO management systems. The ISO 9001 system specifies operational procedures that reflect business policy, organizational characteristics, environmental factors, etc., and conformance to the international standard has been the requirement of ISO 9001 certification. In recent years, increasing importance has been attached to the effectiveness of ISO 9001 system implementation from the management perspective. In this study, we analyze the impact of ISO 9001 system implementation on operational effectiveness with management philosophy, MBO (management by objectives), management control, and management justice. We also introduce external characteristics to examine the effectiveness of ISO system implementation under the trading partners' strong/weak pressure on the company to implement the ISO system. We conducted a mail survey with corporate heads and administrative managers, and obtained 511 effective responses from 1,250 unlisted Japanese companies.