Quality system implementation process for business success

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation activities involved in certifying a quality management system to the ISO 9000 quality management system standard. This includes developing the best business performance measures that will serve as indicators of an effective quality management system. This paper aims to establish a relationship between implementation activities involved in the quality system and specific business performance measures that can be used to assess the system's effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using an online survey combined with publicly available financial reporting information. Regression and other statistical techniques along with text clustering and association of the survey comments were used to analyze the data. Findings – Emphasis on implementing a documentation system were found to be linked to business performance as measured by the return on assets financial measure. Research limitations/implications – Future research should explore various documentation system aspects such as knowledge management and information sharing in greater detail. A larger sample focused on a specific industry might provide useful information for industry appropriate performance indicators. Practical implications – The practical implications of this research focus on the design and implementation of an organization's quality management system in areas that will provide the most benefit to organizations seeking ISO 9000 certification. A baseline measurement can be used prior to implementing the system to strategically manage the implementation process. By understanding how best to implement the quality management system, fewer resources are wasted on ineffective quality management system certification projects and some of the skepticism around the implemention of an ISO 9000 certified quality management system is eliminated. Originality/value – Few quality system researchers target the implementation process for analysis. Combining survey data and publicly held financial represents is a new method for studying ISO 9000 implementation.