Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the key findings of a colloquium on ISO 14001. The colloquium focused on three key areas: critical loops and synergies among management system elements, the full spectrum of management system auditing, and integrating management systems....

This paper discusses how a systems approach to management can be used to facilitate the development and implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) in an organization. It is argued that any solution to address the rapidly growing need for the integration of function‐specific...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether the order or the strategy of management system standards (MSSs) implementation in an organization determines the level of integration of its standardized MSSs. Design/methodology/approach – Groups of organizations that follow...

Purpose – Management system standards (MSSs) have spread in an unprecedented manner in the last few years. Thus, there are now many companies that rely on more than one such standard to establish the criteria for organizational management systems (MSs). The objective of this article is to...

Due to the proliferation of function‐specific management systems and related standards, a need has emerged to somehow integrate them in order to reduce wasteful redundancies and possibly generate synergy effects. While the integration of the requirements of standards, for example ISO 9001 and...

Purpose – To analyze the changes in the perceived benefits of ISO 9000 with the passage of time. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical survey of 399 companies conducted in 2002 in Catalonia (region of Spain). Findings – ISO 9001: 2000 registered organizations report benefits to a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a process‐based design of integrated management systems (IMS) implementation. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive survey of peer‐reviewed literature was conducted. Based on the literature review, a comprehensive methodology for the...

Purpose – In recent years, the number of management systems (MSs) has sharply increased. These MSs can be certified with, for example, the quality standard ISO 9001 or the environmental standard ISO 14001 and they can subsequently be integrated into one single, jointly managed system. The main...