ISO 9000 implementation in Turkish industry

In ‘ISO 9000 implementation in Turkish industry’ (Erel, E., Ghosh, J.B., 1997), research is based on a 1996 survey of Turkish companies, 73 respondents in total, 50 of whom were certified, 21 stated, whilst not yet certified, they wanted to be. The companies are very varied, including in size, export ratio and a number of other measures. This research was also carried out against a background where it was felt that the EU was looking to make exporting to the EU virtually dependent on ISO 9000 certification.

Perceived benefits of certification were:

1. Increased quality awareness within the company – 46 (of 73 companies)
2. Standardization of company’s quality system – 33
3. Increased sales/exports – 10

All companies felt they had benefitted in some way.

Companies were also asked what was their focus would be since certification:

1. Continuous improvement – 45
2. Increased customer satisfaction – 31
3. Maintain the certified status – 22

As regards motivation, whilst 89% of companies exported to the EU, only 17% gave this as a motivation for seeking certification.

The conclusions of the research were: the drive for ISO 9000 certification is motivated primarily by quality considerations and ‘Large majority of the companies view certification as a platform for launching into continuous improvement’.

Reference

• Erel, E., Ghosh, J.B., (1997), ‘ISO 9000 implementation in Turkish industry’, International Journal of Operation & Production Management, Vol. 17, No 12, pp 1233-46.

Bilkent University (Erel, Ghosh)