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Why do firms engage in quality management Systems: an empirical investigation of organizational decision incentives
A sustainability perspective is a practical today's goal for collaboration of state, business and society. The special role within this triad belongs to business companies, which integrate the sustainability principles into their strategies to improve organizational processes and long-term growth. Quality management system (QMS) is an important tool to ensure sustainability through business performance. According to the International standard organization survey of QMS, more than 1 million certifications issued in 178 countries by 2010. The position according to which corporate management of sustainability by the help of QMS, which corresponds to international standard ISO 9000 is presented in the paper. The aim of the paper is to examine the factors, which affect organizational decision of the companies in the emerging countries to implement QMS ISO 9000. The impact of internal and external factors which influence managerial decision of QMS implementation is analyzed in the paper. Specifically, the similarities and differences between the motivations of companies from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), new members of the EU countries and countries of the Southern Europe (which aren’t the members of the EU) within the implementation of the QMS ISO 9000, are discussed. The empirical cross-country analysis is based on 2002–2009 data from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), conducted by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The study identifies the role of economic development and institutional environment in the QMS ISO 9000 implementation. There are highlighted three “portraits” of companies, which implemented QMS: (a) from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries; (b) from the new EU members countries; (c) from the Southern Europe countries, which aren’t the members of the EU. The results show that QMS ISO 9000 implementation leads to increase of competitive ability and investment attractiveness of the company, to improvement of product quality and stakeholders communications, to human resources development. These business processes improvements, as a QMS implementation result, can potentially activate the company’s sustainable effects and then - national and global sustainability transformations.