Purpose – ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards certification is a phenomenon involving over the years a larger and larger number of companies and organizations. Looking at the empirical data, it is observed that the phenomenon is close to saturation in many countries. In Italy, on the other hand,...

Purpose – One of the stated goals behind the formation of the International Organization for Standardization was to develop standards to facilitate international trade in goods and services. This goal has caused different country‐group trends in the diffusion of ISO certification. The...

Purpose – The goal of this paper is to suggest a new incentive model that is capable of creating the conditions for the autonomous growth of diffusion and credibility of the ISO 9000 national quality certification system. Design/methodology/approach – The first part of this work contains...

Purpose – To provide a cross‐section of International Standardization Organization (ISO) 9000 quality certification diffusion over time and its impact on industrial systems. Design/methodology/approach – The starting point of the analysis is “The ISO survey of ISO 9000 and ISO 14001...