IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/
MyIDEAS: Log in (now much improved!) to save this article

Quality Management and Job Quality: How the ISO 9001 Standard for Quality Management Systems Affects Employees and Employers

Author Info

Listed author(s):
  • David I. Levine

    ()

    (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720)

  • Michael W. Toffel

    ()

    (Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

Abstract

Several studies have examined how the ISO 9001 quality management systems standard predicts changes in organizational outcomes such as profits. This is the first large-scale study to explore how employee outcomes such as employment, earnings, and health and safety change when employers adopt ISO 9001. We analyzed a matched sample of nearly 1,000 companies in California. ISO 9001 adopters subsequently had far lower organizational death rates than a matched control group of nonadopters. Among surviving employers, ISO adopters had higher growth rates for sales, employment, payroll, and average annual earnings. Injury rates declined slightly for ISO 9001 adopters, although total injury costs did not. These results have implications for organizational theory, managers, and public policy.

Download Info

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1100.1159
Download Restriction: no

Article provided by INFORMS in its journal Management Science.

Volume (Year): 56 (2010)
Issue (Month): 6 (June)
Pages: 978-996

as
in new window

Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:6:p:978-996
Contact details of provider: Postal:
7240 Parkway Drive, Suite 300, Hanover, MD 21076 USA

Phone: +1-443-757-3500
Fax: 443-757-3515
Web page: http://www.informs.org/
Email:


More information through EDIRC

Keywords: ISO 9001; quality management; standards; occupational health and safety; wages; labor; empirical; California;

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

as
in new window


  1. Diane Scott Docking & Richard J. Dowen, 1999. "Market Interpretation Of Iso 9000 Registration," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 22(2), pages 147-160, 06.
  2. Sebastian Galiani & Paul Gertler & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2005. "Water for Life: The Impact of the Privatization of Water Services on Child Mortality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 83-120, February.
  3. A. Smith, Jeffrey & E. Todd, Petra, 2005. "Does matching overcome LaLonde's critique of nonexperimental estimators?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 305-353.
  4. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
  5. David I. Levine & Susan Helper, 1995. "A Quality Policy For America," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 13(2), pages 26-37, 04.
  6. Sharma, Divesh S., 2005. "The association between ISO 9000 certification and financial performance," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 151-172.
  7. McGuire, Stephen J. & Dilts, David M., 2008. "The financial impact of standard stringency: An event study of successive generations of the ISO 9000 standard," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 3-22, May.
  8. Levine, David I, 1992. "Can Wage Increases Pay for Themselves? Tests with a Production Function," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(414), pages 1102-1115, September.
  9. Barber, Brad M. & Lyon, John D., 1996. "Detecting abnormal operating performance: The empirical power and specification of test statistics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 359-399, July.
  10. Easton, George S & Jarrell, Sherry L, 1998. "The Effects of Total Quality Management on Corporate Performance: An Empirical Investigation," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(2), pages 253-307, April.
  11. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias & Costas Meghir & John Van Reenen, 2004. "Evaluating the Employment Impact of a Mandatory Job Search Program," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(4), pages 569-606, 06.
  12. Docking, Diane Scott & Dowen, Richard J, 1999. "Market Interpretation of ISO 9000 Registration," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 22(2), pages 147-160, Summer.
  13. Rajeev H. Dehejia & Sadek Wahba, 1998. "Causal Effects in Non-Experimental Studies: Re-Evaluating the Evaluation of Training Programs," NBER Working Papers 6586, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  14. Kristiina Huttunen, 2007. "The Effect of Foreign Acquisition on Employment and Wages: Evidence from Finnish Establishments," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 497-509, August.
  15. Susan Helper & David I. Levine & Elliot Bendoly, 2002. "Employee Involvement And Pay At Us And Canadian Auto Suppliers," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 329-377, 06.
  16. Terlaak, Ann & King, Andrew A., 2006. "The effect of certification with the ISO 9000 Quality Management Standard: A signaling approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 579-602, August.
  17. Eichler, Martin & Lechner, Michael, 2002. "An evaluation of public employment programmes in the East German State of Sachsen-Anhalt," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 143-186, April.
  18. Kevin B. Hendricks & Vinod R. Singhal, 1997. "Does Implementing an Effective TQM Program Actually Improve Operating Performance? Empirical Evidence from Firms That Have Won Quality Awards," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(9), pages 1258-1274, September.
  19. Lindbeck, Assar & Snower, Dennis J, 1986. "Wage Setting, Unemployment, and Insider-Outsider Relations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 235-239, May.
  20. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra Todd, 1998. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 65(2), pages 261-294.
  21. David Greenaway & Joakim Gullstrand & Richard Kneller, 2005. "Exporting May Not Always Boost Firm Productivity," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(4), pages 561-582, December.
  22. Charles J. Corbett & María J. Montes-Sancho & David A. Kirsch, 2005. "The Financial Impact of ISO 9000 Certification in the United States: An Empirical Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(7), pages 1046-1059, July.
  23. Kevin B. Hendricks & Vinod R. Singhal, 1996. "Quality Awards and the Market Value of the Firm: An Empirical Investigation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(3), pages 415-436, March.
  24. David Fairris & Mark Brenner, 2001. "Workplace Transformation and the Rise in Cumulative Trauma Disorders: Is There a Connection?," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(1), pages 15-28, January.
  25. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.

as
in new window


Cited by:

  1. Neda Trifkovic, 2016. "Private standards and labour productivity in the food sector in Viet Nam," WIDER Working Paper Series 163, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
  2. Damien Euzénat & Meradj Mortezapouraghdam, 2016. "Les changements d’organisation du travail dans les entreprises : quelles conséquences sur les accidents du travail des salariés ?," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 486(1), pages 129-147.
  3. Joseph Lanfranchi & Sanja Pekovic, 2012. "How Green is my Firm? Workers' Attitudes towards Job, Job Involvement and Effort in Environmentally-Related Firms," Working Papers halshs-00976341, HAL.
  4. Lindlbauer, Ivonne & Schreyögg, Jonas & Winter, Vera, 2016. "Changes in technical efficiency after quality management certification: A DEA approach using difference-in-difference estimation with genetic matching in the hospital industry," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 250(3), pages 1026-1036.
  5. Lamar Pierce & Michael W. Toffel, 2010. "The Role of Organizational Scope and Governance in Strengthening Private Monitoring," Harvard Business School Working Papers 11-004, Harvard Business School, revised Feb 2012.
  6. Paglia, John K. & Harjoto, Maretno A., 2014. "The effects of private equity and venture capital on sales and employment growth in small and medium-sized businesses," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 177-197.
  7. John C. Camillus, 2011. "Organisational identity and the business environment: the strategic connection," International Journal of Business Environment, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(4), pages 306-314.
  8. Susan A. Kayser & John W. Maxwell & Michael W. Toffel, 2014. "Signaling without Certification: The Critical Role of Civil Society Scrutiny," Harvard Business School Working Papers 15-009, Harvard Business School, revised Jul 2016.
  9. Armenia Androniceanu, 2017. "The Three-Dimensional Approach of Total Quality Management, an Essential Strategic Option for Business Excellence," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 19(44), pages 1-61, February.
  10. Jodi L. Short & Michael W. Toffel & Andrea Read Hugill, 2013. "Monitoring Global Supply Chains," Harvard Business School Working Papers 14-032, Harvard Business School, revised Jun 2015.
  11. Chonnikarn Fern Jira & Michael W. Toffel, 2011. "Engaging Supply Chains in Climate Change," Harvard Business School Working Papers 12-026, Harvard Business School, revised Oct 2012.
  12. Clougherty, Joseph A. & Grajek, Michal & Shy, Oz, 2016. "Taking 'Some' of the Mimicry Out of the Adoption Process: Quality-Management and Strategic Substitution," CEPR Discussion Papers 11661, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  13. Castka, Pavel & Prajogo, Daniel & Sohal, Amrik & Yeung, Andy C.L., 2015. "Understanding firms׳ selection of their ISO 9000 third-party certifiers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 125-133.
  14. Ion IVAN & Cristian CIUREA & Mihai DOINEA & Arthur AVRAMIEA, 2012. "Collaborative Management of Risks and Complexity in Banking Systems," Informatica Economica, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 16(2), pages 128-141.
  15. Trifkovic Neda, 2015. "Spillover Effects of International Standards: Work Conditions in Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises," WIDER Working Paper Series 047, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
  16. Veronika Vynaryk & Aoife Hanley, 2015. "Effects of the Qms ISO 9000 Certification on Russian Manufacturing Companies," HSE Working papers WP BRP 39/MAN/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
  17. Susan A. Kayser & John W. Maxwell & Michael W. Toffel, 2014. "Supply chain screening without certification: The critical role of stakeholder pressure," Working Papers 2014-08, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
  18. Ebers, Mark & Semrau, Thorsten, 2015. "What drives the allocation of specific investments between buyer and supplier?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 415-424.
  19. Elisa Calza & Micheline Goedhuys & Neda Trifkovic, 2017. "Drivers of productivity in Vietnamese SMEs: The role of management standards and innovation," WIDER Working Paper Series 068, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

Access and download statistics

When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:6:p:978-996. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Mirko Janc)

If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis using RePEc data.