Plant location, ISO 9000 certifications and quality management practices : An empirical investigation

Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the country in which a manufacturing plant is located on its ability to achieve one or more of the ISO certifications, and the extent to which six other quality management practices have been implemented. It also examines the impact of achieving world class manufacturing status (WCM) on product quality. Product quality was measured by finished‐product first‐pass yield, scrap and rework costs, and warranty costs as percentages of sales. Design/methodology/approach – The analyses are based on empirical data collected from more than 2900 manufacturing plants in the USA Canada, and Mexico. Findings – The results show that there are significant differences in the plants' efforts to achieve quality certifications. Significant differences were also found in the extent to which six other quality management techniques are implemented. More important, our results show that there are significant differences in product quality performance among plants with different levels of progress toward achieving WCM status. Originality/value – The findings of this study have many implications for both academic and practitioners who are interested in studying the impact of ISO 9000 and Quality Management practices.