شیوه های 9000 ISO و عملکرد مالی: دیدگاه انسجام فن آوری

Attention to processes has increased, as thousands of organizations have adopted process-focused programs such as TQM and ISO 9000. Proponents of such programs stress the promise of improved efficiency and profitability. But research has not consistently borne out these prospects. Moreover, the expectation of universal benefits is not consistent with research highlighting the important role of firm-specific capabilities in sustaining competitive advantage. In this paper, we use longitudinal panel data on ISO 9000 practices for firms in the auto supplier industry to study two new issues related to the adoption of process management practices. First, we find that, as the majority of firms within an industry adopt ISO 9000, late adopters no longer gain financial benefits from these practices. Second, we explore how firms’ technological coherence moderates the performance advantages of ISO 9000 practices. We find that firms that have a very narrow or very broad technological focus have fewer opportunities for complementary interactions that arise from process management practices and thus benefit less than those with limited breadth in technologically related activities.

A central question in strategy is: How do firms achieve sustainable competitive advantage? Research is often aimed at assessing whether particular organizational practices can deliver sustainable advantages, especially given that other firms can also adopt similar practices. Practices aimed at improving operational effectiveness may benefit adopting firms for a time, but if a firm's competitors can all adopt the same practice, the benefits will be competed away (Porter, 1996). Firms are then frustrated in their efforts to translate performance improvements into relative financial performance advantage. If a generic “best practice” can be copied and equally benefit all potential adopters, it cannot confer lasting benefits (e.g. Lieberman and Montgomery, 1988, Porter and Siggelkow, 2004 and Levinthal, 2000). However, if an organizational practice is firm-specific, valuable, and difficult to imitate, it may lead to sustainable competitive advantage (cf. Barney, 1991 and Peteraf, 1993).

We extend existing research studying process management by exploring two questions that have been missing in prior studies. Drawing on literature in strategic management, we first explore how the expected performance benefits of process management practices, such as ISO 9000, may be competed away as most firms in an industry adopt. Second, we explore the firm-specific conditions under which these practices might lead to sustainable performance advantages. We hypothesized and concluded that while performance advantages accrue for earlier adopters in an industry, they are competed away over time for later adopters. We further argued, however, that process management practices are not simply generic improvement practices; instead, they directly affect the linkages and fit among firms’ activities. Thus, the effects of process management practices likely depend on differences in underlying capabilities. We hypothesized that the extent of coherence or relatedness in firms’ underlying technologies would influence the performance benefits of process management utilization