A qualitative study on integrated management systems in a non-leading country in certifications

The aim of this study is to analyse the integration of management systems (MSs) in a country with low certifications number and growth rate and propose a research agenda towards improving the competitiveness of organisations that implement multiple MSs. The main research questions focus on the implementation process itself and the effect of low level of national certification to the integration process. To serve this research purpose, an exploratory research is designed in Greece (a country with relatively low certification counts and rates to the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management standards). A case study approach is employed to enable deeper and comprehensive reasoning. A cross-case analysis is presented to explore patterns, similarities and differences among organisations. Findings show that four out of five organisations analysed are integrating its MSs at different levels, the integration methodology applied is similar for all organisations but audits are the most dissimilar aspect. This study is one of the first that addresses MSs’ integration in Greece exploring contingency factors.

[1]  Sue Ziebland,et al.  Analysing qualitative data , 2000, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[2]  S. Henson,et al.  Factors affecting the incidence and intensity of standards certification evidence from exporting firms in Pakistan , 2011 .

[3]  C. Searcy,et al.  Integrating Sustainable Development into Existing Management Systems , 2007 .

[4]  Kristine M. Wichuk,et al.  Challenges in implementing a functional ISO 14001 environmental management system , 2012 .

[5]  Samuel K.M. Ho,et al.  Integrated lean TQM model for sustainable development , 2010 .

[6]  Mohd Shahir Yahya,et al.  Strategies for Integrating Quality, Environmental, Safety and Health Management Systems , 2013 .

[7]  G. Santos,et al.  Certification and integration of management systems: the experience of Portuguese small and medium enterprises , 2011 .

[8]  Matteo Mario Savino,et al.  Investigating the resources for Integrated Management Systems within resource-based and contingency perspective in manufacturing firms , 2015 .

[9]  John Grosskopf,et al.  Lessons in leadership: Operationalizing sustainability through an integrated management system , 2011 .

[10]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  ISO 10002 Complaints Handling System: a study , 2006 .

[11]  J. Creswell.  Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions. , 1998 .

[12]  Pamela Baxter,et al.  Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study Design and Implementation for Novice Researchers , 2008 .

[13]  S. Ziebland,et al.  Analysing qualitative data , 2000, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[14]  Juan José Tarí,et al.  Benefits of management systems integration: a literature review , 2015 .

[15]  R. Stott,et al.  The World Bank , 2008, Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology.

[16]  Ivanka Avelini Holjevac,et al.  Total Quality Management and Business Excellence , 2007 .

[17]  Muhammad Asif,et al.  Meta‐management of integration of management systems , 2010 .

[18]  O. Boiral,et al.  ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: Towards a Research Agenda on Management System Standards , 2013 .

[19]  R. Salomone.  Integrated management systems: experiences in Italian organizations , 2008 .

[20]  John Milliman,et al.  Pilot project results of an integrated security management system , 2005 .

[21]  Alan Griffith,et al.  Improving environmental performance through integrated management systems (IMS) in the UK , 2008 .

[22]  Paulo Sampaio,et al.  Integrated management systems as complex adaptive systems , 2015 .

[23]  Jānis Mazais,et al.  Integrated management systems towards sustainable and socially responsible organisation , 2015 .

[24]  Jennifer L. Kraus,et al.  Auditing integrated management systems: Considerations and practice tips , 2008 .

[25]  P. López-Fresno,et al.  Implementation of an integrated management system in an airline: a case study , 2010 .

[26]  Paulo Augusto Cauchick Miguel,et al.  Experience with an integrated management system in a sugar and ethanol manufacturing unit: Possibilities and Limitations , 2013 .

[27]  M. Casadesus,et al.  Integration of standardized environmental and quality management systems audits , 2011 .

[28]  Maria Gianni,et al.  Management systems integration: lessons from an abandonment case , 2015 .

[29]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  Integration of quality and environmental management systems , 1998 .

[30]  N. Tajuddin,et al.  Qualitative Research Design , 2019, SAGE Research Methods Foundations.

[31]  Ali Azadeh,et al.  Integrated HSEE management systems for industry: A case study in gas refinary , 2009 .

[32]  Gilberto Santos,et al.  Integration of “QES” systems on the small and medium size foundry companies in Portugal , 2004 .

[33]  Harm-Jan Steenhuis,et al.  Process embedded design of integrated management systems , 2008 .

[34]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  Integration of standardized management systems: does the implementation order matter? , 2012 .

[35]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  Generic audit of management systems: fundamentals , 2000 .

[36]  S. Karapetrovic.  Musings on integrated management systems , 2003 .

[37]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  On the concept of a universal audit of quality and environmental management systems , 2002 .

[38]  M. Casadesus,et al.  The future of standardised quality management in tourism: evidence from the Spanish tourist sector , 2010 .

[39]  Denise Dumke de Medeiros,et al.  Um modelo de integração de sistemas de gestão , 2009 .

[40]  Joseph A. Clougherty,et al.  International Standards and International Trade: Empirical Evidence from ISO 9000 Diffusion , 2012 .

[41]  Zoe Hoy,et al.  A structured approach to integrating audits to create organisational efficiencies: ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 audits , 2015 .

[42]  David S. Moore,et al.  Integration of parallel-operating quality systems , 1997 .

[43]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  How integrated are environmental, quality and other standardized management systems? An empirical study ☆ , 2009 .

[44]  Konstantinos Kirytopoulos,et al.  Integrated management systems: moving from function to organisation/decision view , 2010 .

[45]  Alex Douglas,et al.  Integrating management systems: does the location matter? , 2013 .

[46]  Mei Li,et al.  Qualitative case studies in operations management: Trends, research outcomes, and future research implications , 2011 .

[47]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  An empirical analysis of the integration of internal and external management system audits , 2014 .

[48]  S. C. Laroiya,et al.  Integrated management systems in Indian manufacturing organizations , 2010 .

[49]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  Integration of management systems: focus on safety in the nuclear industry , 2003 .

[50]  Frederic Marimon,et al.  Diffusion of sustainability reporting in universities: current situation and future perspectives , 2015 .

[51]  K. Seers.  Qualitative data analysis , 2011, Evidence Based Nursing.

[52]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  An empirical study of the benefits and costs of ISO 9001: 2000 compared to ISO 9001/2/3: 1994 , 2005 .

[53]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  ARE METHODS USED TO INTEGRATE STANDARDIZED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS A CONDITIONING FACTOR OF THE LEVEL OF INTEGRATION? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY , 2011 .

[54]  Mark Pagell,et al.  An examination of strategies employed for the integration of management systems , 2009 .

[55]  J. Fresner,et al.  Experiences with integrated management systems for two small companies in Austria , 2004 .

[56]  Gopalakrishnan Muthu Samy,et al.  Integrated management systems for better environmental performance and sustainable development a review , 2015 .

[57]  Thomas Y. Choi,et al.  Renaissance of case research as a scientific method , 2014 .

[58]  M. T. Hides,et al.  Developing management systems towards integrated manufacturing: a case study perspective , 2000 .

[59]  S. Zeng,et al.  An empirical examination of benefits from implementing integrated management systems (IMS) , 2011 .

[60]  Barrie Dale,et al.  System integration: the views and activities of certification bodies , 1998 .

[61]  P. Sampaio,et al.  Different perspectives on management systems integration , 2014 .

[62]  Henry C. W. Lau,et al.  A self‐assessed quality management system based on integration of MBNQA/ISO 9000/ISO 14000 , 1999 .

[63]  Maria Gianni,et al.  Food integrated management systems: dairy industry insights , 2017 .

[64]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  Certification intensity level of the leading nations in ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards , 2010 .

[65]  Tine Herreborg Jørgensen,et al.  Towards more sustainable management systems: through life cycle management and integration , 2008 .

[66]  G. Santos,et al.  A generic model for integration of Quality, Environment and Safety Management Systems , 2014 .

[67]  Alexandra Simon,et al.  Improving Innovation and Customer Satisfaction through Systems Integration , 2012, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[68]  Stefano Biazzo,et al.  From ISO quality standards to an integrated management system: an implementation process in SME , 2013 .

[69]  Iveta Marková,et al.  Stakeholder management as part of integrated management system , 2015 .

[70]  Katerina Gotzamani,et al.  The true motives behind ISO 9000 certification: Their effect on the overall certification benefits and long term contribution towards TQM , 2002 .

[71]  J. Puente,et al.  La integración de los sistemas de gestión , 2010 .

[72]  John Grosskopf,et al.  Using a unified risk management approach for EH&S and security: Results of a pilot project , 2007 .

[73]  O. Oliveira.  Guidelines for the integration of certifiable management systems in industrial companies , 2013 .

[74]  Carol Davis,et al.  The one-stop shop. , 2009, Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987).

[75]  Gilberto Santos,et al.  Conception of a flexible integrator and lean model for integrated management systems , 2014 .

[76]  Fredrik von Malmborg,et al.  Integrated management systems as a corporate response to sustainable development , 2005 .

[77]  Y. K. Chan,et al.  The establishment of an integrated management system ‐ a paradigm for railway engineering management , 1998 .

[78]  Joseph A. Maxwell,et al.  Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach , 1996 .

[79]  Merce Bernardo,et al.  Integration of management systems as an innovation: a proposal for a new model , 2014 .

[80]  Manuel Ferreira Rebelo,et al.  Integration of management systems: towards a sustained success and development of organizations , 2016 .

[81]  D. Moore.  Sustainability, institutionalization and the duality of structure: Contradiction and unintended consequences in the political context of an Australian water business , 2013 .

[82]  Dirk Mackau,et al.  SME integrated management system: a proposed experiences model , 2003 .

[83]  B G Dale,et al.  Management system standards: The key integration issues , 2000 .

[84]  Alex Douglas,et al.  Integrated management systems in small and medium enterprises , 2000 .

[85]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  Relationships between the integration of audits and management systems , 2011 .

[86]  Alexander Blecken,et al.  Development of a Lean Quality Management System: An Integrated Management System , 2010, Heinz Nixdorf Symposium.

[87]  Frederic Marimon,et al.  Comparative analysis of diffusion of the ISO 14001 standard by sector of activity , 2011 .

[88]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  Implementing environmental with other standardized management systems: Scope, sequence, time and integration , 2009 .

[89]  Barrie Dale,et al.  Manufacturing Companies' Attitudes to System Integration: A Case Study Examination , 1998 .

[90]  A. Kania,et al.  Integration of management systems on the chosen example , 2009 .

[91]  D. Rondinelli,et al.  Panacea, common sense, or just a label?: The value of ISO 14001 environmental management systems , 2000 .

[92]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  Integrated audit of management systems , 1998 .

[93]  M. Gibbert,et al.  The ‘‘What’’ and ‘‘How’’ of Case Study Rigor: Three Strategies Based on Published Work , 2010 .

[94]  D. Jeyathilagar,et al.  The IEQMS model for augmenting quality in engineering institutions – an interpretive structural modelling approach , 2016 .

[95]  Pedro Arezes,et al.  Integrated management systems assessment: a maturity model proposal , 2016 .

[96]  Audun Amundsen,et al.  Joint management of energy and environment , 2000 .

[97]  Rosario González Pedraza,et al.  Costs Modelling Applied to Activities of Integrated Management , 2014 .

[98]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  Do integration difficulties influence management system integration levels , 2012 .

[99]  Pedro M. Saraiva,et al.  Management systems: integration or addition? , 2012 .

[100]  Nahla Ben Amor,et al.  A Multi-Objective Approach to Generate an Optimal Management Plan in an IMS-QSE , 2010 .

[101]  A. Strauss,et al.  The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research aldine de gruyter , 1968 .

[102]  Claudio Cruz-Cázares,et al.  Relating open innovation, innovation and management systems integration , 2016, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[103]  J. Edwards,et al.  Using grounded theory for theory building in operations management research: a study on inter-firm relationship governance , 2010 .

[104]  Claudio Comoglio,et al.  Implementing the environmental and social policies of a municipality through an integrated management system: theoretical framework and case study , 2013 .

[105]  M. F. Renzi,et al.  Itegration between ISO 9000 and ISO 14000: Opportunities and limits , 2000 .

[106]  Klender Cortez Alejandro,et al.  The worldwide diffusion of the global reporting initiative: what is the point? , 2012 .

[107]  H. P. Berg,et al.  Auditing in support of the integration of management systems: a case from the nuclear industry , 2003 .

[108]  Mark Pagell,et al.  Integration of management systems: A methodology for operational excellence and strategic flexibility , 2010 .

[109]  Alena Labodová,et al.  Implementing integrated management systems using a risk analysis based approach , 2004 .

[110]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[111]  Vivian W. Y Tam,et al.  Integrating Safety, Environmental and Quality Risks for Project Management Using a FMEA Method , 2010 .

[112]  Iñaki Heras,et al.  Internalization of ISO 9000: An exploratory study , 2011, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[113]  Sylwia Męcfal.  Recenzja książki. Robert K. yin, Case Study Research. Design and Methods (fourth Edition), thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2009 , 2012 .

[114]  Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria,et al.  Internalization of ISO 9000: an exploratory study , 2011 .

[115]  Christine Nadel,et al.  Case Study Research Design And Methods , 2016 .

[116]  Amrik S. Sohal,et al.  Integrated management system:the experiences of three Australian organisations , 2005 .

[117]  Janne Harkonen,et al.  INTEGRATED HSEQ MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS , 2015 .

[118]  Joseph A. Williams.  The impact of motivating factors on implementation of ISO 9001:2000 registration process , 2004 .

[119]  Mark Crowder,et al.  Quality standards: integration within a bereavement environment , 2013 .

[120]  Barrie Dale,et al.  Integrated Management Systems:: a model based on a total quality approach , 2001 .

[121]  Christopher A. Voss,et al.  Case research in operations management , 2002 .

[122]  Michaela A. Balzarova,et al.  Understanding Firms’ Approaches to Voluntary Certification: Evidence from Multiple Case Studies in FSC Certification , 2017 .

[123]  Anette Von Ahsen,et al.  The Integration of Quality, Environmental and Health and Safety Management by Car Manufacturers – a Long-Term Empirical Study , 2014 .

[124]  Stanislav Karapetrovic.  Strategies for the integration of management systems and standards , 2002 .

[125]  Haim Hacham,et al.  Unification of the quality assurance systems of public health laboratories conformed to ISO 17025, ISO 15189, and ISO 9000: a major organizational change , 2007 .

[126]  B MilesMatthew,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis , 2009, Approaches and Processes of Social Science Research.

[127]  Bart J. Bronnenberg,et al.  A Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Global Diffusion of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certification , 2007, Manag. Sci..

[128]  Jonathan Jingsheng Shi,et al.  A synergetic model for implementing an integrated management system: an empirical study in China , 2007 .

[129]  Jesús Abad,et al.  Taxonomic proposal for integration levels of management systems based on empirical evidence and derived corporate benefits , 2014 .

[130]  Paulo Sampaio,et al.  Analysis of integrated management systems from various perspectives , 2015 .

[131]  Martí Casadesús,et al.  An empirical study on the integration of management system audits , 2010 .

[132]  Iñ´aki Heras Saizarbitoria,et al.  What happened to the ISO 9000 lustre? An eight-year study , 2010 .

[133]  Johannes Fresner.  Starting continuous improvement with a cleaner production assessment in an Austrian textile mill , 1998 .

[134]  Kingshuk K. Sinha,et al.  Towards a unifying theory of management standard implementation: The case of ISO 9001/ISO 14001 , 2014 .

[135]  B. Flyvbjerg.  Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research , 2006, 1304.1186.

[136]  Anette Von Ahsen,et al.  Integrated Management Systems — Opportunities and Risks for Corporate Environmental Protection , 2001 .