The Contribution of ISO 9001 to Certified Companies: Manager and Employee Perceptions

In the literature, several studies confirm that managers and customers have a positive perception of ISO 9001 certification, but employee perception is not mentioned, as it is often subsumed into manager perception. Yet, it is very important to have the perceptions of all employees because there may be some differences that could negatively impact the implementation of the certification. The aims of this paper are first to compare perceptions of the various stakeholders regarding the contribution of the certification, and second to analyze if the degree of acquaintance with the ISO 9001 standard, which is assumed to be greater among managers than among other employees, is likely to explain the possible differences in perception. A questionnaire was sent to 91 certified companies in France, and 239 responses were received. The main results show that depending on the principles of the standard, there is a difference in perception between managers, technicians, and workers. Also, the degree of acquaintance with the certification is correlated with the global level of perception: The higher the degree of knowledge, the better the perception.