Adopted by an increasing number of organizations around the world, the ISO 9000 standards have become a growing concern for more and more managers who are often compelled to adopt this system without really knowing its requirements and implications for employees. Though the effects of this standard on quality management and on performance improvement have been widely debated, there is little knowledge of how the managers and employees who are asked to implement and maintain it perceive the ISO 9000 standards or resist its use. This study will thus attempt to analyze this perception and resistance with regard to both the standard and the certification process. So as to avoid the traditional and idealised view of this standard, whose commercial stakes often give rise to uncritical statements, almost 50 interviews were conducted outside of the workplace. The results of these interviews revealed highly contrasting attitudes that were frequently critical of the ISO 9000 system, which was often given only superficial support. A qualitative analysis of the data allowed us to identify three types of respondents. They were grouped according to their opinions and attitudes about the implementation of this standard. The three groups were ceremonial integrators, quality enthusiasts and dissidents. Although the "quality enthusiasts" discourse often reflects managers' "rhetoric of success" described by Zbaracki (1998) about the implementation of total quality programs, this rhetoric is not shared by the other respondent categories. Hence, this research project contributes to a better understanding of how institutional pressures, which create "isomorphic" organizations by leading them to adopt identical management models, are reinterpreted, renegotiated, and modified within organizations. The proposed typology casts doubt on the mechanistic, consensual, and monolithic view of the ISO 9000 system that underlies most of the work on this theme. In particular, this study demonstrates the relevance of adopting both the institutionalist and critical approaches in efforts to explain the respondents' opinions. In so doing, the personnel's support for the ISO 9000 system and the certification process can then be analyzed from different angles. This certification process would ultimately appear to be a rite of passage that gives rise to various strategies that depend on the respondents' category and their support for the standard.

ISO 9000: Outside the iron cage

Drivers, motivations, and barriers to the implementation of corporate social responsibility practices by construction enterprises： A review

https://depositonce.tu-berlin.de/bitstream/11303/10055/1/1-s2.0-S0048733317301002-main.pdf

Multi-mode standardisation: A critical review and a research agenda

In many regulated markets, private, third-party auditors are chosen and paid by the firms that they audit, potentially creating a conflict of interest. This paper reports on a two year field experiment in the Indian state of Gujarat that sought to curb such a conflict by altering the market structure for environmental audits of industrial plants to incentivize accurate reporting. There are three main results. First, the status quo system was largely corrupted, with auditors systematically reporting plant emissions just below the standard, although true emissions were typically higher. Second, the treatment caused auditors to report more truthfully and very significantly lowered the fraction of plants that were falsely reported as compliant with pollution standards. Third, treatment plants, in turn, reduced their pollution emissions. The results suggest reformed incentives for third-party auditors can improve their reporting and make regulation more effective.

Truth-telling by Third-party Auditors and the Response of Polluting Firms: Experimental Evidence from India*

Actors who are involved in innovation face a large, diverse range of – often conflicting – interests from stakeholders in many areas of business and society. Innovations can only succeed if they are aligned with societal demands and supported by a range of factors, such as regulation and technical infrastructures. 

Through three studies, this dissertation shows how standardisation helps balance these interests and create foundations for new technologies. The results reveal (1) how standards emerge in highly complex and dynamic processes which may simultaneously rely on coordination in markets, committees, and/or governments to shape emerging technologies. They show (2) a range of strategic options for influencing these processes’ outcomes, which are available to companies and other actors. This dissertation also shows (3) how these options can be integrated into managing technology development at the company- and industry levels. Doing so helps ensure that innovations, standards, and regulation are aligned, thus supporting a technology’s market introduction. Finally, the dissertation (4) identifies specific strategies that companies follow with regards to the choice of forum where they engage in standardisation, revealing different priorities in firms’ activities. 

Altogether, this dissertation shows standardisation to be key to achieving the balance of interests that is required for innovations to prosper. Standardisation allows companies and other actors to establish an equilibrium of interests that sets that stage for innovation.

https://repub.eur.nl/pub/114519/EPS2019473LIS9789058925312-Embargo.pdf

Setting the Stage for Innovation: Balancing Diverse Interests Through Standardisation

Today, many companies are eager to claim their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Such claims may positively influence public perception, increase market share, improve stakeholder relations and protect corporate reputation. Not being able to substantiate these claims in a credible way may involve risks with regard to reputation and trustworthiness and may result in scepticism and a lack of credibility. Although the topic of credibility becomes increasingly important in order to both substantiate and assess CSR claims, it has so far attracted relatively little scholarly attention. The use of CSR-related management standards, several of which are based on quality management frameworks, can contribute to enhancing the credibility of corporate CSR claims. This article focuses on potential ways of enhancing the credibility of CSR claims by exploring what strategies are available for organisations, based on the most recent global initiative in CSR standardisation, ISO 26000. ISO 26000 can be ...

The credibility of corporate CSR claims: a taxonomy based on ISO 26000 and a research agenda

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as propagated by ISO 26000, the global comprehensive guidance standard for CSR, compare it to and position it vis-a-vis other contemporary interpretations of CSR and formulate a critique on the standard’s definition of CSR. Methodology/Approach – This paper aims to examine the definition of CSR as propagated by ISO 26000, the global comprehensive guidance standard for CSR, compare it to and position it vis-a-vis other contemporary interpretations of CSR and formulate a critique on the standard’s definition of CSR. Findings – ISO 26000’s definition of CSR is ‘out of the ordinary ' when compared to instrumental CSR definitions that are currently dominant, as it propagates an explicit moral perspective on corporate responsibilities towards society. While it resembles aspects of earlier definitions of CSR, this paper argues that the standard, being the end result of a global stakeholder dialogue, tries to make a stron...

Out of the ordinary? Appraising ISO 26000's CSR definition

Purpose – This article aims to report on original empirical research on the comprehensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26000 and the CSR Performance Ladder and identifies determinants for the adoption of CSR standards. In addition, it reviews and adds to literature on CSR standards adoption. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were derived from interviews with CSR experts in The Netherlands. Findings – The findings of our research show that the demands and wishes of customers, the attitude of a company’s management, the market position of the standard-developing organization and several tangible and intangible characteristics of the standard itself are particularly relevant for the adoption of CSR standards. Research limitations/implications – The article aimed at reaching analytical generalization instead of statistical generalization and was focused on The Netherlands. Differences across industries and sectors were not ...

Determinants of CSR standards adoption: exploring the case of ISO 26000 and the CSR performance ladder in The Netherlands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on some important limitations of the ISO 26000 standard for corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the credible communication of corporate CSR claims. The paper aims to identify and explore firm-level strategies to signal adherence to the standard effectively and their legitimacy consequences for the standard. Design/methodology/approach – The identification of firm-level signaling strategies is mainly derived from an institutional description of the ISO 26000 standard and based on anecdotal evidence from current business practice, initiatives that have been taken worldwide by organizations such as national standards institutes, the ISO 26000 text and adjacent ISO documents, including ISO post-publication surveys. The paper is grounded in signaling theory. Findings – Five signaling strategies for firms are derived and explored which may reduce information asymmetries and engage in efficacious signaling of their underlying CSR quality and thus guide t...

Signaling strategies for ISO 26000: a firm-level approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a reaction to the paper of Nijhof and Jeurissen in IJSSP on limitations of business case approaches to CSR by nuancing some of their critique as well as extending it by addressing a more fundamental flaw in such approaches. In addition, the paper aims to also provide a case of a company that integrates various approaches to CSR into its business model that goes beyond the CSR business case. Design/methodology/approach – The paper both has a conceptual approach through drawing on critical studies and theoretical arguments on CSR as well as an empirical approach through examining the integrative sustainability business model developed by the company Patagonia, a recognized and innovative CSR leader. Findings – The paper argues that the “cherry-picking argument” by Nijhof and Jeurissen on the limitations of the business case approach to CSR does not reflect the idiosyncrasy of the CSR concept. Also, their glass ceiling metaphor may not be well-chosen. Second,...

Lars Moratis

Papers

The credibility of corporate CSR claims: a taxonomy based on ISO 26000 and a research agenda

Out of the ordinary? Appraising ISO 26000's CSR definition

Determinants of CSR standards adoption: exploring the case of ISO 26000 and the CSR performance ladder in The Netherlands

Signaling strategies for ISO 26000: a firm-level approach

The perversity of business case approaches to CSR : Nuancing and extending the critique of Nijhof & Jeurissen