ISO 9001 and organizational excellence models in small and medium sized enterprises: current state and comparative analysis

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand the current state of quality management practices in Small and Medium Enterprises. The main concepts of Quality Management and its practices in Small and Medium Enterprises were reviewed from the literature in order to understand the key practices in these organizations, and a data analysis on their use was performed. Design/methodology/approach - Analysis was performed by consulting and understanding the evolution of Organizational Excellence Models and Quality Management Systems. This research incorporates data since the beginning of the 90's from the last century and allows us to comprehend how these models and management systems have evolved and if there is any correlation between the adoption of each one of them- evaluation of interdependencies. Findings - The findings suggest that while the number of ISO 9001 certified companies has increased over the years, the number of organizations accessing Business Excellence frameworks have been decreasing. The available data suggests that Small and Medium Enterprises seem to follow these trends. It is particularly noticed that there is a considerable gap between Small and Medium Enterprises and Large Enterprises in the usage of Business Excellence frameworks. Originality/value - This article offers a global perspective of the current state in the use of ISO 9001 and Organizational Excellence Models by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME's).