Merce Bernardo
Universtitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Marti Casadesus
Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain
Stanislav Karapetrovic
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Iñaki Heras
Universidad del País Vasco, San Sebastián, Spain
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Published in: 11th QMOD Conference. Quality Management and Organizational Development Attaining Sustainability From Organizational Excellence to SustainAble Excellence; 20-22 August; 2008 in Helsingborg; Sweden
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 33:71, p. 843-859
Published: 2008-12-09
ISBN:
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
Purpose: The aim of this research is to study the degrees of integration of different Management systems (MS) within organizations.
Methodology: A questionnaire was mailed to 362 Spanish organizations asking about the level of integration of resources; documentation and procedures. All companies of the sample have; at least; ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 implemented. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to test the hypothesis: first reduction of data and then a cluster analysis in order to classify the organizations of the sample into few groups representing the levels of integration.
Findings: Companies are classified into three groups; each of them integrating at different levels: harmonization; cooperation and amalgamation. In harmonization (8 organizations) the level of integration is partial and cooperation (41 companies) is the next step; that is; more than partial integration but not full integration yet. Finally; the last group of companies (310 organizations) has full integration of their management systems. A great number of companies integrate their MS but there is a lack in understanding the concept of integration.
Research limitation: The sample is made up by Spanish companies. The regions participating in the study have an intensive level of certification; but the results cannot be applied to the rest of Europe before knowing other countries behavior in practice.
Practical implications: This study contributes in knowing what levels of integration companies can have. It can be useful in the creation of an internationally recognized guideline for integration.
Originality: This study is one of the first empirical researches about integration degrees.
Integrated Management System (IMS); ISO 9001:2000; ISO 14001:2004; Management System (MS)
