The fit between organisational structure, management orientation, knowledge orientation, and the values of ISO 9000 standard : A conceptual analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine the fit between values underpinning the ISO 9000 standard and selected managerial and organisational factors. Design/methodology/approach – The study is a conceptual one relying on the literature on the selected strategic factors and also the standard. The values of institutionalisation, explicitation, systematisation, delineation and Taylorisation underpinning ISO 9000 standards were distilled from the origin and the principles of ISO 9000 and the ISO 9000 certification practices. The values are juxtapositioned with the imperatives of control and creativity, knowledge management and organisational structure to understand the consequent synergism or tension. Findings – It is postulated that the more mechanistic and explicit knowledge based organisations will enjoy ISO 9000 certification while the more organic and tacit knowledge based organisations will experience tensions arising from lack of fit. Hence, conceptually, the standard will work best in a more mechanistic and routine knowledge based settings. Creativity oriented strategies will find the standard quite dysfunctional while control and operation‐based strategies are likely to benefit most from the certification. Originality/value – Most ISO 9000 related studies are weak on conceptualisation of the relationships examined. Despite the growing volume of studies on ISO 9000, the values of the standard have not been explicitly outlined. Consequently, discussion of the efficacy of the standard has focused on the explicit requirements of the standard rather than the instrumental values it promotes. Based on the explication of the standard's values, the article examines the possible synergies and contradictions between the standard and, management orientation (control vs creativity), knowledge orientation (explicit vs tacit) and structure (organic vs mechanistic).