Experiences of implementing ISO 9000 in Swedish industry

In recent years, work to implement the ISO 9000 standard has been intensified in Swedish industry. A rapidly growing number of companies in various industries and lines of business have already been certified or are working towards certification. This situation is very interesting from the point of view of research, as it provides the opportunity to make observations in companies where the work towards change has been going on for a couple of years, at the same time as this work can be studied within new lines of business from the start. Recently, extensive research has been carried out regarding experiences of implementing of ISO 9000 in Swedish industry. Reports the results of this research. In an explorative phase, generates different research questions. Descriptive studies were then made based on these results. In addition, longitudinal in‐depth studies focusing on the management of change and based on case studies were carried out in this phase. In all, more than 50 per cent of the Swedish ISO 9000 companies certified in 1993 were investigated. Shows the most common reasons for certification, the positive and negative effects and the companies’ experiences of certification. On the basis of these results, and on earlier known models of change work, draws normative conclusions with implications for more efficient management of change.