The contribution to excellence of ISO 9001: the case of certified organisations in Cyprus

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify ISO 9001's contribution to the five enablers of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical research was conducted in Cypriot ISO 9001 certified organizations to evaluate the motives that lead them to certification, the difficulties they faced during the standards' implementation and their performance improvement in the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model. Companies were asked to evaluate their performance in 85 issues related to these Enablers both before and after certification.Findings – The results of the survey indicate the “most” and the “least” important improvements from ISO 9001 certification in the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model. The results also prove that performance improvement is statistically significant in all enablers and it is also significantly related to the companies' motives for certification.Research limitations/implications – Future research shoul...