Asac 2001 Conference Standards and Exporting: Canadian Companies and Iso 9000

In 1987, the Geneva-based International Standards Organization (ISO) introduced the ISO 9000-series standards as a way to encourage product and service quality improvement and facilitate international trade. Since that time, ISO 9000 standards have gained international recognition and have been widely adopted by manufacturing and service industries. In December 1999, more than 340,000 ISO 9000-series registration certificates had been issued around the world (ISO, 2000). Adoption of ISO 9000 standards has been greatest in Europe and Asia, with North America somewhat slower. Despite this situation, the number of North American adopters is significant. In Canada, for example, registrations totaled at least 9,600 in February 2000 (Globus International Quality Group Inc., 2000). ISO 9000 embodies a series of standards and guidance documents that help companies to establish a management system that focuses on quality improvement. The management system addresses three stages in the quality process: (1) setting goals and targets, (2) evaluating performance, and (3) determining how best to close any observed shortfalls. Interested companies subject themselves to scrutiny by an independent third party (registrars). If a company’s management system qualifies, a certificate is issued to that effect. Regular audits and reevaluations are carried out to ensure that standards are maintained. Trade facilitation was a driving force in the development of ISO standards, and international marketing writers link standards to export success (e.g., Ferguson, 1996; Johansson, 2000; Terpstra and Sarathy, 1997). Given this situation, the experiences of Canadian exporters with regard to ISO 9000 are examined in this paper.