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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, VOL. 51, NO. 2, MAY 2004

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The Impact of Just-In-Time Implementation and ISO 9000 Certification on Total Quality Management
L. Paul Dreyfus, Sanjay L. Ahire, and Maling Ebrahimpour
Abstract—In this paper, we examine the impact of just-in-time (JIT) implementation and International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 certification (as specifiedby the original standards of the early 1990s) on quality management efforts of manufacturing firms. Responding firms in the study were grouped into four categories based on their ISO 9000 and JIT orientation: 1) firms that are ISO 9000 certified but have not implemented JIT (ISO firms); 2) firms that are ISO 9000 certified and have implemented JIT (ISO-JIT firms); 3) firms that have implementedJIT but are not ISO 9000 certified (JIT firms); and 4) firms that have not implemented JIT and are not ISO 9000 certified (traditional firms). These groups were compared along 13 plant-level total quality management (TQM) implementation elements and five TQM outcome measures using MANCOVA procedure. Analyses resulted in distinct sets of firms reflecting the impact of the ISO-JIT orientation on itsTQM implementation and TQM outcomes. Results support the contingency view that a firm’s ability to implement effective TQM practices is enhanced: 1) marginally by ISO 9000 efforts; 2) significantly by JIT implementation; and 3) most by conjoint ISO-JIT efforts (though not much more significantly than JIT implementation alone). These insights have significant practical implications for firmsinvesting in JIT implementation, ISO 9000 certification, and TQM implementation. Interestingly, our study conducted in mid-1990s and its empirical findings lend a strong support for the recent transformation of the original ISO 9000 requirements into the current ISO 9001:2000 framework. Index Terms—Empirical, ISO 9000, just-in-time (JIT), total quality management (TQM).

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I. INTRODUCTION HE LASTquarter of the 20th century witnessed the emergence of three major programmatic operations improvement concepts that have radically altered the way manufacturing firms manage their operations. These were: 1) just-in-time (JIT) production systems; 2) International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 certifications; and 3) total

quality management (TQM).1 As we enter the 21st century, the use ofthese strategies is expected to grow even more rapidly. For example, up to the end of December 2001, more than 510 000 ISO 9000 certificates had been awarded in 161 countries and economies (ISO press release, July 2002). The number of firms implementing TQM has been growing at a comparable rate. The resources invested in such programs are so huge that TQM consulting industry has taken on a life of itsown [89], [105]. Most of the major firms in repetitive production industries worldwide have switched over to JIT production systems and they enforce compliance from their suppliers to this approach through positive and negative incentives. Manufacturing executives across the globe are increasingly facing the challenge of implementing one or more of these programs in their manufacturingfacilities. Given the application trends of the three strategies, managerial challenges associated with their concurrent execution should grow accordingly. Hence, there is an urgent need to understand the synergies and distinctions between JIT systems, ISO 9000 certification, and TQM implementation. Such an understanding will help firms in implementing one or more of these programs effectively. Of the threestrategies, TQM has been touted as the most far-reaching philosophy that can be used by a firm to progress toward quality excellence [84], [113]. During the last two decades, numerous firms around the world have undertaken TQM efforts in response to rising customer expectations for high-quality products and services, and to regain and retain their competitive positions in the face of global...