Why Firms Seek Iso 9000 Certification: Regulatory Compliance or Competitive Advantage? (original) (raw)

Proponents of Is0 9000 certification claim that it is a low-cost signal of a firm's commitment to quality and a meaningful component of total quality management (TQM). Critics claim that it has little relation to TQM and is a tariff on international trade. We test the hypothesis that firms obtain ISO 9000 certification to comply with government and customer demands by estimating a probit model of the certification decision. The-results support the view of proponents of ISO 9000. After controlling for regulatory and customer pressures to obtain ISO 9000, other factors related to quality management and quality-based competition explain the adoption decision.