An empirical study of the ISO 9000 certification in global supply chain of maquiladoras

International Journal of Production ResearchVol. 49, No. 1, 1 January 2011, 215–234

An empirical study of the ISO 9000 certification in global supply

chain of maquiladoras

Shad Dowlatshahi*

Division of Business Administration, HW Bloch School of Business and PublicAdministration, The University of Missouri-Kansas City, 5110 Cherry

Street, Kansas City, MO 64110-2499, USA

(Final version received 25 May 2010)

This research examined two sets of constructs in maquiladoras with respect toISO 9000 certification. The managerial support and employee involvement as wellas quality systems were internal constructs and the global supplier selectioncriteria were external constructs. The maquiladora industry is a manufacturingmodel that uses the Mexican workforce and foreign investment and technologyon the border area between the United States and Mexico. The standards of ISOcertification were studied and analysed through a survey instrument and extensivefield interviews with experts of maquiladora plants in El Paso, TX and Juarez,Mexico. There was a 78% response rate with 171 usable questionnaires. Therewere also 11 in-depth interviews conducted with quality and supply chain expertsfrom eight industries in maquiladoras. Extensive statistical analyses includingreliability and validity analyses and factor analyses were performed. Based on theresults of factor analyses, ISO-certified companies exemplified better and longer-term relationships with their main/core suppliers, greater top managerial supportand employee involvement and communication, and more effective qualitysystems than those of non ISO-certified companies. In conclusion, additionalinsights and perspectives were provided and future research directions werediscussed.

Keywords: global supplier selection; quality management; ISO certification;maquiladora industry; managerial support and employee involvement; qualitysystems

1. Introduction

The ‘production sharing’ and ‘twin plants’ industry (also known by their Spanish namemaquiladora industry) emerged as a new system of manufacturing operations on theborder region between the United States and Mexico in the 1960s. The maquiladorasimport materials and equipment for assembly or manufacturing, on a duty-free and tariff-free basis, and then re-export the assembled products. This particular mode ofmanufacturing created much interest among companies in the United States. This interestwas subsequently extended to European and Asian firms. Many US firms attempted toestablish maquiladora operations in order to take advantage of low-cost Mexican labour,less restrictive Mexican labour laws, more accommodating labour unions, and theproximity to newer markets. Aichlmayr (2008) discussed the factors of why US companies

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ISSN 0020–7543 print/ISSN 1366–588X online

� 2011 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2010.508949

http://www.informaworld.com

decide to locate assembly and production functions in maquiladoras. The discussion of the

nature of maquiladora industry is not included in this work. Dowlatshahi (2005), however,

outlined the importance, many operational details, and the overall characteristics of

maquiladora industry.One important concern for the maquiladora industries is to make certain that the

quality of parts and products manufactured in these plants were congruent with the parts

and products produced in the headquarters of these companies within the global supply

chain environment. This issue is important from two standpoints. First, the products

manufactured in maquiladoras bear the same names and logos as the original firms in the

US or elsewhere. Lack of quality for maquiladora products could adversely affect

the image, reputation, and the ability of the headquarters to sell similar products in the

marketplace. Second, low-cost maquiladoras might provide the connotation of being

manufacturers of low-quality products for some customers.To overcome the concerns cited above, it is essential for maquiladora plants to focus

on quality improvements. Therefore, the quality issue has gained tremendous importance

for the maquiladora operations as global supply chain entities. One of the most effective

ways of making a strong statement of commitment to quality for maquiladoras is to

achieve the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9000 certification

(hereafter ISO certification). Corbett (2006) stated that the ISO 9000 series of quality

management standards were widely diffused, with more than 560,000 sites certified in 152

countries as of December 2003. Moreover, Sampaio et al. (2009) mentioned that according

to the ISO survey in 2005 there were nearly 700,000 ISO 9000 certificates issued in the

world. Feinberg et al. (2003) provided an empirical comparison of compliance of ISO 9000

in maquiladoras and in Mexican service firms. Data analysis revealed that 93% of the

maquiladoras were ISO 9000 certified compared with only 26% of the service firms.

The results of this work indicated that there were several important differences in the

perceptions of maquiladora managers and those of service managers regarding ISO

certification. Trigueros et al. (2008) stated that ISO 9000 standards are widely used by

many firms and are perceived by many customers as synonymous with quality. Magd

(2008) examined management attitudes/perceptions of Egyptian manufacturing organisa-

tions toward the implementation of ISO 9001:2000. The author concluded that Egyptian

manufacturing firms were aware of ISO 9001:2000 and they considered ISO certification to

be relevant to their firms. The main motivators for seeking ISO certification were to

improve the efficiency of their quality system and to achieve customer satisfaction. Chang

and Lo (2005) stated that ISO certification has become one of the key elements in the

implementation of total quality management. The authors further stated that ISO

certification is a structured and documented quality systems that can attract and retain

customers. Santos and Escanciano (2002) conducted an exploratory study in Spain with

the aim of obtaining empirical evidence on the benefits of the implantation of standardised

quality systems. The authors concluded that seeking ISO certification is basically linked to

an improvement in internal efficiency. Kuo et al. (2009) concluded that ISO certification

significantly improves the effectiveness of quality management practices and brings

significant improvements to quality performance as well.Stoffer (2004) focused on the effort of a company that achieved ISO certification based

on focusing on customers’ needs and de-emphasising the role of departments. Johnson

(2003) showed how many companies were pursuing ISO certification as a result of

increased customer requests for more standardisation and better quality documentation.

216 S. Dowlatshahi

1.1 Research objectives and organisation of the paper

This paper proposes to empirically study the constructs of ISO certification in themaquiladora industry. The study was targeted at manufacturing companies that belong tothe Asociacion de Maquiladoras, A.C. (AMAC 2008) or Association of Maquiladorasin Ciudad Juarez and Ciudad Chihuahua, Mexico, which borders El Paso, Texas,representing the largest concentration of maquiladoras in Mexico.

Specifically, this study focuses on two sets of constructs (external and internal) for twosets of maquiladoras (those with ISO certification and those without ISO certification).The external construct includes the supplier selection criteria used to select suppliers.The internal constructs include the role of managerial support and employee involvementand quality systems in the maquiladoras. These ISO certification factors were deemed tobe most relevant, crucial, and challenging for the achievement of ISO certification in themaquiladoras. Three pieces of evidence corroborate this statement. First, these internaland external constructs were mostly based on the standards developed by the ISOorganisation. These constructs are deeply rooted in the 20 sections of ISO standards.Second, extensive field interviews (prior to the development of the survey) with qualityexperts in the maquiladoras unanimously resulted in the selection of these ISO constructsas the most important constructs to consider for the study. Third, these constructs werealso rooted in the quality literature. These constructs and the supporting literature areexplained in Section 2.

This paper is organised into six sections. The literature review is presented in Section 2.In Section 3, the survey instrument and data collection are presented. This surveyinstrument is subsequently used in the analysis of the results. The instrument developmentand the classifications of the responses are presented in Section 4. Section 5 focuses on theanalyses of results. Whenever possible, these analyses are enhanced by field interviewsconducted with quality experts in the maquiladora industry. Section 6 presents theconclusions and assessment of the results as well as future research directions.

2. Review of literature

The available literature (survey or non-survey based research) does not address the roleand factors of ISO certification in the maquiladoras. Youssef et al. (2006) discussed therole of ISO certification and quality management practices in the USA, Canada, andMexico. The results show that there are significant differences in the plants’ efforts toachieve quality certifications. These differences could highlight the unique characteristicsof the maquiladoras. Specifically, the authors concluded that the USA and Canada paidmore attention to the environmental issues related to quality than that of Mexico.

There are many reasons that could explain a lack of research in the area of ISOcertification in the maquiladoras. Maquiladora operations are not well-understood bymany researchers and practitioners due to geographic distance, complicated regulationsgoverning their operations, and unfamiliarity of many researchers with Spanish (the mainlanguage of many maquiladoras). Maquiladora research surveys usually yield very lowresponse rates; thereby making significant research projects not viable. Gaining anysignificant maquiladora data requires having personal contacts and familiarity with thepersonnel of the companies surveyed.

There are two distinct characteristics of the literature in this area. First, most literatureaddress the role of quality (and not necessarily ISO certification or its constructs) and

International Journal of Production Research 217

related issues in general and not necessarily in the maquiladoras. Second, many of thesearticles are short, practitioner-related, lack substantial depth, data collection, and detailedanalysis.

The constructs cited in the research objectives are also rooted in the quality literature.These constructs and the supporting literature are explained further:

2.1 Global suppliers

The role of suppliers in a global supply chain is essential to the viability and effectivenessof distributed operations such as maquiladoras. The role of suppliers in maquiladoras hasbecome crucial because the suppliers are called upon to deal with design specifications thatare largely developed in the headquarters. Li (2007) stated that there are ampleopportunities in developing global suppliers and reducing costs in Latin America.The author, however, cited technology, currency, transportation, infrastructure, politicalsystems, and the laws, as possible impediments to developing effective global suppliers.Lo et al. (2008) revealed that ISO 9000 adoption helped improve the material and cashflows in manufacturing supply chains. The authors indicated that 695 US-listedISO-certificated manufacturing firms shortened the number of inventory days by 3.68days one year after ISO implementation. These companies showed continuous improve-ment and shortened the number of inventory days by 8.75 days (8.29% shorter) three yearsafter certification.

Beske et al. (2008) argued that sustainable supply chain management requires suppliersto be evaluated against a wider set of criteria. The authors further stated that ISO 9000plays a central role in evaluating suppliers’ economic performance especially in theautomotive industry. Trigueros et al. (2008) considered the establishment of qualitysystems consistent with and synonymous to the requirements established in ISO 9000standards.

2.2 Managerial support and employee involvement

These internal constructs are also important in ISO certification. Managerial support isessential in committing scarce maquiladora resources to the ISO project. Romero (2004)stated that in Mexican maquiladoras, Mexican professionals are considered to be theessential factor in successful quality programs. Junk et al. (2006) indicated that the effectsof top management commitment on employee empowerment and teamwork aresignificantly mediated by employee training. This implied that the success of employeeempowerment and quality teams could be dependent on the level of employee training.Corbett (2006) in a major empirical work determined that the global diffusion of ISO 9000did move upstream in global supply chains. The author concluded that firms that exportgoods or services to a particular country may simultaneously be importing that country’smanagement practices. Calisir (2007) stated that seeking ISO certification provided agreater emphasis on considering alternative approaches to educating the top and mediumlevel managers and receiving support from top management for achieving ISO certifica-tion. Magd (2008) empirically showed that the Egyptian manufacturing firms perceivedtop management commitment and the lack of qualified personnel to be major barriers forthe effective implementation of ISO 9001:2000. Rao et al. (1997) examined the qualityconstructs for determining the effectiveness of ISO 9000 standards in infusing quality

218 S. Dowlatshahi

within organisations in four countries: the United States, China, India and Mexico.Specifically, the study explored the relationships between ISO 9000 certification and TQMusing ANOVA. The study concluded that ISO 9000-registered companies exhibit higherlevels of quality leadership.

Employee involvement is also a prerequisite for developing quality systems, processes,and procedures consistent with ISO requirements. As an example, documentation ofquality activities requires direct employee involvement. Without a certain degree ofemployee involvement and co-operation in maquiladoras, the implementation of certainaspects of ISO certification requirements would not be feasible. Najera (2008) offeredsuggestions in developing adequate retention practices for maquiladora workers. Calisir(2007) noted that focus on ISO certification enhances the quality of the enterprise in termsof reputation, interpersonal relations, and motivation on the part of employees. Boiral andRoy (2007) presented the results of an empirical study of the impact of motivationalfactors underlying ISO 9000 certification on several aspects of organisational performance,including employee commitment.

2.3 Quality systems

This construct appears to be a natural and necessary prerequisite for the achievement ofISO certification in the maquiladoras. The existence of effective quality systems, whetherthey are technical or managerial, increases the likelihood of maquiladoras achieving ISOcertification. Li et al. (2008) suggested that enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) canbe successful if it is preceded by a total quality management (TQM) focus. This shows theimportance of quality systems for the successful implementation of newer technologies.Aly and Schloss (2003) stated that maquiladoras are developing quality culture inMexico’s manufacturing systems based on the principles of TQM.

To summarise, many of these articles failed to consider the role and constructs of ISOcertification in the maquiladora industry. None of the articles specified the relevant criteriaor constructs (as developed by this paper) that were important for ISO certification inmaquiladoras. Many of these articles lacked methodological and analytical rigour toprovide sufficient insight regarding ISO practices in non-maquiladora settings.

3. The survey instrument and data collection

The two constructs of managerial support and employee involvement, and qualityprocesses (internal constructs) and supplier selection criteria (external constructs) wereused in this study as the constructs of ISO certification in maquiladoras. As a reminder,these constructs were developed as a result of an extensive literature review as well asextensive field interviews with maquiladora experts (see Section 2, literature review, andSection 1.1, research objectives).

A survey instrument was developed which closely followed and reflected theseconstructs. Further, these constructs were considered and evaluated with respect to whetheror not the companies surveyed had ISO certification. The survey instrument called for thesegregation of data so that a comparative analysis of these constructs can be made for ISO-certified versus non ISO- certified companies. The survey instrument, as shown in theAppendix, initially asked the respondents as to whether they had ISO-certification. Basedon a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, the respondents were directed to their own set of Questions.


This data segregation was essential for the comparative analysis of these two different sets ofcompanies (ISO-certified versus non ISO-certified) with respect to the constructs chosenabove. The entire analyses presented in this work are based on these two different sets ofdata.

To conduct this study, questionnaires were distributed to the manufacturing membersof the AMAC directory. From the AMAC (2008) database of companies in Ciudad Juarezand Ciudad Chihuahua, Mexico, non-manufacturing-related companies, such as banks,custom brokers, lawyers, service organisations, etc. were initially excluded from thedatabase. The response to the questionnaire was 78%; 225 questionnaires were distributedand 175 were returned. Out of the 175 responses, 171 questionnaires were readable andcomplete. The high response rate was generated mostly due to follow-up phone calls. Afterbeing contacted by phone, one questionnaire (in duplicate copies of English and Spanish)per company was delivered in person or by fax. The questionnaires were supplied to keycontact individuals in maquiladoras. These questionnaires were subsequently delivered toknowledgeable personnel in quality in their own companies. If contact personnel had notreturned the questionnaires within a week, they were followed up with telephone calls.

4. Research design

The study covered different industries, different quality experts in maquiladoras,and different constructs of ISO certification that were most relevant to maquiladoras.The questionnaire for this study was designed to be easy-to-read and understand.The questions were as concise and as clear as possible. In order to increase the responserate, difficult and complex questions were avoided. Also, respondent anonymity wasoffered to the respondents. This anonymity increased the response rate as well as theveracity of the responses.

The final questionnaire was developed with the assistance of university academiciansand maquiladora practitioners after two pilot studies. Two questionnaires were given toeach individual, one in English and the other one in Spanish. This was necessitated by theunique environment of the maquiladoras, an environment in which neither language wasspoken fluently. The contents of these questionnaires were exactly the same except forthe language in which they were prepared. The respondent was asked to return thequestionnaire in which he or she felt more comfortable answering.

The questionnaire contained two parts. Part I presented some general informationrelated to the company and the respondents. Part II addressed specific questions regardingISO certification, supplier selection criteria, managerial support and employee involve-ment, and quality processes. The standard five-point Likert scale was used for allquestions.

4.1 Classifications of responses by type of industry

The original nature of the maquiladoras as assembly operations makes the use of SICclassification inappropriate. Instead, criteria such as the main types of the productmanufactured or the type of industry maquiladoras belonged to can be used. The maintypes of products manufactured by maquiladoras were the basis for the classification ofmaquiladoras. Table 1 shows the classification of industries surveyed.

220 S. Dowlatshahi

The electronic components, automotive, and consumer electronics represented thelargest number of companies surveyed. These three types of industries account for 80% ofthe total industries surveyed. Ancillary industries such as metals and stamping, textiles,and rubber and plastics showed some of the lowest response rates. The other maquiladorasconstituted newer plants. The purpose of these newer plants was to support and to serve asfeeder plants into the older and well-established maquiladoras. The newer plants are fewerin numbers and were developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In comparison, theconsumer electronics and automotive industries were established the late 1960s and early1970s in the El Paso-Juarez area. Electronic components and medical industries laterfollowed these industries.

The company level was chosen as the basis for the unit of analysis. No single companyreceived more than one questionnaire (in duplicate copies of English and Spanish). Themedium- and upper-level management at maquiladoras was chosen as the target ofreceiving the questionnaires. The respondents were knowledgeable quality individuals withdirect and meaningful knowledge and involvement with the quality and ISO certificationissues in their companies.

4.2 The interviews with maquiladora managers

Eleven in-depth interviews with quality and quality-related experts with extensiveknowledge of ISO certification in the maquiladoras were conducted. This was designedto provide context, gain insight, and offer additional perspectives for the quality issues ofmaquiladoras with respect to the survey conducted. Additionally, many of theseindividuals were involved in the pilot study, in the development and modification of thesurvey instrument, in the content validity, and in the purification of scales. Table 2 showsthe profile of interviewees.

Similar positions and titles in different maquiladora companies could have differentresponsibilities. Alternatively, there could be different positions and titles with essentiallythe same responsibility. Although there was no standardisation of positions or titles in themaquiladora industry, the interviewees selected had direct knowledge of quality issuesregardless of their positions in maquiladoras.

The interviews were instrumental in understating the depth and scope of quality issuesin maquiladoras. The maquiladora managers tended to be more open and forthcoming in

Table 1. Number and percentage of respondents by type of industry.

Type of industry Number of responses Percentage of total responses

Electronic components 56 33%Automotive 41 24%Metals and stamping 2 1%Consumer electronics 40 23%Medical 8 5%Textiles 6 4%Rubber and plastics 6 4%Others 12 7%Total 171 100%


personal interviews. This was because of cultural and organisational issues in themaquiladoras (Acosta et al. 2004). The interviews were conducted with the quality expertsfrom all eight industries included in the survey. The interviewees were members of theirorganisation’s top management. The interviewees had exposure to more than onefunctional area within the maquiladoras with at least five or more years of experience inthe industry. The interviewees were comprised of expatriates and Mexican nationals.All the interviewees were given the same open-ended and informal questions irrespectiveof their positions and the type of industry to which they belonged.

Whenever possible, the opinions expressed by the maquiladora experts were incorpo-rated in the analysis and conclusions of this paper. The interviewees had every opportunityto express their opinions on the survey questions. They were also provided with ampleopportunities to render any comments they wished to make. The interviewees were askedto describe their institutional culture, company and industry priorities, and the issues theyfaced outside the realm of the survey. Total anonymity was offered to the interviewees withregard to their identities and the companies they worked for.

5. Analyses of results

The data collected from the survey instrument were divided into two distinct data sets; oneset for ISO-certified companies 1(A), and the other set for non ISO-certified companies(1B) (see the Appendix). In order to provide for data consistency and integrity, the data forQuestions 3 to 6 were further segregated so that they correspond to their appropriate datafor Questions 1(A) and 1(B). Table 3 addresses the prevalence of ISO certification(Question 1 of the survey) among the respondents.

Table 2. The profile of interviewees.

Position/expertiseNumbersinterviewed Industries represented

Average number ofyears in industry

Quality expert 3 Consumer electronics, electroniccomponents, and automotive

12.0

Purchasing/quality 4 Appliances, automotive, rubberand plastics, and electroniccomponents

14.5

Manufacturing/quality 4 Medical, consumer electronics,packaging, and metal andstamping

16.0

Table 3. Number and percentage of responses to ISO certification.

QuestionNumber ofresponses A. Yes B. No

Question 1: Does your company have ISO certification? 171 95 76(100.0%) (56.0%) (44.0%)

222 S. Dowlatshahi

Table

4.Item

correlationmatrix

anddescriptivestatisticsforQuestions2–6.

2(A

)2(B)

2(C

)2(D

)2(E)

3(A

)3(B)

3(C

)3(D

)3(E)

4(A

)4(B)

4(C

)4(D

)4(E)

2(A

)1.00

2(B)

�0.21

1.00

2(C

)0.09

0.17

1.00

2(D

)0.40�0.07

0.19

1.00

2(E)

0.04

0.04

0.23

0.10

1.00

3(A

)�0.04�0.13

0.41

0.28

0.25

1.00

3(B)

�0.09

0.22

0.02

0.45

0.04

0.06

1.00

3(C

)�0.10

0.08

0.30

0.09

0.07

0.16

0.33

1.00

3(D

)�0.26

0.17�0.05

0.02�0.13�0.11�0.07�0.13

1.00

3(E)

�0.06�0.06

0.31

0.21

0.14

0.84

0.14

0.45�0.25

1.00

4(A

)0.12

0.33�0.11

0.29

0.33

**

**

*1.00

4(B)

�0.16�0.31�0.26

0.29�0.01

**

**

*�0.15

1.00

4(C

)0.00

0.13

0.14

0.17�0.08

**

**

*�0.20

0.34

1.00

4(D

)�0.24�0.04�0.32�0.23�0.48

**

**

*�0.01�0.08

0.03

1.00

4(E)

�0.09�0.22

0.15

0.06

0.47

**

**

*0.12

0.12

0.00�0.24

1.00

Mean

4.95

4.32

4.83

4.82

4.75

4.92

4.78

4.69

3.08

4.86

4.71

4.71

4.50

3.54

4.92

SD

0.22

0.77

0.42

0.47

0.44

0.37

0.42

0.52

1.25

0.42

0.55

0.55

0.59

1.22

0.28

No.ofviolations

03

11

20

12

30

11

22

0


For the purpose of performing all the statistical analyses, 95 respondents whoresponded ‘yes’ to having ISO certification were considered to have ISO certification.The other 76 that responded ‘no’ were considered as not having ISO certification at thetime of data collection.

The analyses of results are divided into two sections. First, reliability and validity testsof the data are performed and presented in Section 5.1. Second, factor analyses ofQuestions 2 through 6 of the survey instrument are presented and discussed in Section 5.2.

5.1 Reliability and validity analyses of the data

The reliability tests for the factor analyses (see Tables 5 to 10) indicate strong Cronbach’sreliabilities. In Table 4 of the item correlation matrix, the correlations above 0.12 weresignificant at a 0.01 level of significance, and correlations above 0.07 were significant at a0.05 level of significance (the information for Questions 5 and 6 are not included in Table 4due to lack of space but they are available from the authors upon request). In terms ofvalidating the questionnaire, by using LISREL methodology, the following validity testswere performed based on Table 4.

(1) Content validity was used where the domain of the concept was made clear and theanalysts (the university academicians and maquiladora practitioners in the pilotstudy) were asked whether the measure fully represented the domain. Thequalitative, yet strong, content validity was established by revising some of thequestions after administering the two pilot studies.

(2) To test for convergent validity, the lowest correlation within a construct was foundand tested (if it was different from zero). The lowest correlations for all factorswere significant at p5 0.05. Additionally, the goodness-of-fit index was 0.81.The results indicated convergent validity.

(3) Discriminant validity was evaluated using the multi-trait-single-method matrix(Campbell and Fiske 1959). As Table 4 indicates, there were 19 violations out of 85comparisons performed. This indicated the existence of discriminant validity sincethe ratio of the number of violations to the number of comparisons was less than50%. Additionally, LISREL methodology was used to test for discriminantvalidity between pairs of constructs (Bagozzi and Phillips 1982). The correlationbetween the two constructs was fixed at 1.0. The correlation between the twoconstructs was then allowed to be free to assume any value. The difference between

Table 5. Factor analysis for Question 2: ISO-certified companies.

Question Supplier support Supplier selection criteria

2(A) Supplier selection – quality 0.09 0.80

2(B) Supplier selection – price 0.35 �0.562(C) Supplier selection – service 0.84 �0.022(D) Supplier selection – right supplier 0.62 �0.192(E) Supplier selection – lead time 0.11 0.74

Eigenvalue 1.73 1.25Percentage of variance 35.30 25.10Cronbach’s reliability 0.89 0.80

224 S. Dowlatshahi

the chi-squared values for fixed and free correlations for one degree of freedom wascalculated to be 89.98. The chi-square differences must be greater than or equalto approximately 7.88 at p5 0.05 to be significant (Cohen and Cohen 1983).The chi-square of 89.98 indicated a strong existence of discriminant validity as well.

(4) The average variance extracted is similar to the LISREL measure of compositereliability. For the average variance extracted, the standardised loadings were


QuestionManagerial andcommunication

Employeeinvolvement

3(A) Managerial support 0.98 �0.093(B) Importance of training �0.14 0.87

3(C) Employee involvement 0.12 0.783(D) Importance of cost �0.23 �0.143(E) Good communication channels 0.94 0.05


Table 6. Factor analysis for Question 2: Non ISO-certified companies.

QuestionSuppliersupport

Supplier selectioncriteria

2(A) Supplier selection – quality 0.83 0.042(B) Supplier selection – price �0.21 0.792(C) Supplier selection – service 0.28 0.81

2(D) Supplier selection – right supplier 0.84 0.002(E) Supplier selection – lead time 0.01 0.98


Table 8. Factor analysis for Question 3: Companies not ISO-certified.

QuestionEmployeeinvolvement

Managerial andcommunication

4(A) Managerial support �0.50 0.204(B) Importance of training 0.79 0.214(C) Employee involvement 0.85 �0.014(D) Importance of cost 0.00 0.844(E) Good communication channels 0.06 0.80



squared before they were summed (Fornell and Larker 1981). The values of the

average variance extracted that exceed 0.50 occur when the indicators are trulyrepresentative of the latent construct (Bagozzi and Yi 1988).

In Question 2 (supplier selection construct): Companies ISO-certified for the SS factor,the composite reliability was 0.87 and the average variance extracted was 0.59. For theSSC factor, the composite reliability was 0.82 and the average variance extracted was 0.55.

In Question 2 (supplier selection construct): companies not ISO-certified for the SS factor,the composite reliability was 0.86 and the average variance extracted was 0.58. For theSSC factor, the composite reliability was 0.85 and the average variance extracted was 0.54.

In Question 3 (managerial support and employee involvement constructs): Companies

ISO-certified for the MC factor, the composite reliability was 0.92 and the averagevariance extracted was 0.61. For the EI factor, the composite reliability was 0.87 and the

average variance extracted was 0.55.In Question 4 (managerial support and employee involvement construct): Companies

not ISO-certified for the EI factor, the composite reliability was 0.83 and the averagevariance extracted was 0.54. For the MC factor, the composite reliability was 0.82 and

the average variance extracted was 0.53.In Question 5 (quality systems construct): Companies ISO-certified for the TQ factor,

the composite reliability was 0.94 and the average variance extracted was 0.63. For the QMfactor, the composite reliability was 0.93 and the average variance extracted was 0.59.


Question Technical quality Quality management

5(A) Use of technical quality systems 0.82 �0.155(B) Quality documentation in place 0.87 0.175(C) Have quality training and education 0.17 0.775(D) Use of consistent quality practices �0.08 0.97

5(E) Use continuous improvement plans 0.14 0.95


Table 10. Factor analysis for Question 6: Companies not ISO-certified.

Question Technical quality Quality management

6(A) Use of technical quality systems 0.58 �0.096(B) Quality documentation in place �0.14 0.67

6(C) Have quality training and education 0.12 0.79

6(D) Use of consistent quality practices �0.23 0.146(E) Use continuous improvement plans 0.64 0.05


226 S. Dowlatshahi

In Question 6 (quality systems construct): Companies not ISO-certified for the

TQ factor, the composite reliability was 0.91 and the average variance extracted was 0.60.

For the QM factor, the composite reliability was 0.89 and the average variance extracted

was 0.58. All sets of these calculations indicate strong representations of latent constructs.

5.2 Factor analyses of the data

This exploratory factor analyses are based on Questions 2 to 6 of the survey instrument. In

analysing the results, not only were the results of the exploratory factor analysis

considered, but also extensive field interviews were conducted with key personnel in

the maquiladora industry to gain additional insight as to the meanings of the results.

These insights are presented wherever they could shed light on the results of the factor

analysis.Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) statistics may be used to address multicollinearity in a

factor analysis. The KMO could also be used to measure sampling adequacy to determine

whether the data are likely to factor well. The KMO overall statistics for Question 2 is

presented below:

KMO measure of sampling adequacy 0.892Bartlett’s test of sphericity 0.000

KMO varies from 0 to 1.0 and KMO overall should be 0.60 or higher to proceed with

factor analysis. While the high degree of significance in Bartlett’s test of sphericity

indicates that the matrix is an identity matrix. This is not clearly the case given the

Bartlett’s test of sphericity value of 0.000. Exploratory factor analysis (by using Varimax

rotation) for Question 2 (supplier selection construct) for those respondents who had ISO

certification is presented in Table 5.Table 5 shows that those companies that had obtained ISO certification had their

questions loaded onto two factors. These companies presumably placed more emphasis on

supplier support (SS) than mere supplier selection criteria (SSC). SS focused on more

intangible and more long-term factors such as supplier service and choosing the right

main/core supplier that would fit a company’s long-term goals. The second factor SSC was

based on quality and lead time. The negative loading for price (�0.56) on SSC denotes that

this variable had a negative association with the SSC factor. The results indicate that

companies that had obtained ISO certification tend to focus more on long-term and

strategic relationships with their main/core suppliers.This assessment was corroborated with the maquiladora experts during field interviews

who expressed the importance of SS in maquiladora operations and as an important

determinant of their long-term success. In terms of price, these experts indicated that

reasonable prices were relatively easy to obtain given the nature of relationships between

ISO-certified companies and their suppliers. Question 2(E) supplier selection-lead time,

appeared to be an interesting phenomenon. The quality experts at maquiladoras were

asked about lead times. Maquiladora experts stated that due to slowness of custom

operations at the ports of entry between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, there are frequent

delays and often a complete shutdown of custom operations. The delivery lead times on

these circumstances could even become a difficulty for ISO-certified companies that have

established excellent working relationships with their suppliers.


Factor analysis for Question 2 (supplier selection construct) for those respondents whodid not have ISO certification is presented in Table 6. For those companies that had notobtained ISO certification, the analysis resulted in three factors. The first factor combinedthe choice of the right main/core supplier with quality considerations in the SS factor.The first factor explained the greatest percentage of the variance in the responses of nonISO-certified companies. This implied that having the right suppliers with quality parts aresufficient as the basis for long-term supplier support. The second factor combined pricewith the service and lead time as the SSC factor. This showed that the respondentswere not certain regarding the relative importance of these factors and which of theseitems (questions) were related to each other in terms of meeting certain ISO requirements.The role of supplier service was diminished when it was combined with price. One couldargue that long-term supplier service was not recognised as a strategic issue for nonISO-certified companies. This also indicated that companies that did not have ISOcertification and that had not matured their relationships with suppliers were concernedabout the ability of their main/core suppliers to deliver their shipments at the right pricesand on a timely bases.

Interviews with maquiladora experts regarding Question 2 revealed that efforts toundertake ISO certification had a significant tangible effect on improving supplierrelationships and services and on providing timely deliveries. On the other hand, non-ISOcertified companies were mostly concerned about prices and deliveries as they had notimproved their relationships with suppliers to the extent that they felt conformable withsuppliers’ prices and timely deliveries. Non-ISO certified companies also seemed tocombine long-term supplier questions (e.g. supplier service) with short-term supplierquestions (e.g. price) in the same factor. Further, non ISO-certified companies consideredquality as one of the supplier support issues rather than supplier selection criteria.These observations clearly point to major differences regarding the operations andstrategic priorities of the companies that had ISO certification and the companies that didnot. Specifically, the factors for ISO-certified companies suggest that they tend to selectsuppliers based on supplier support because this is an important determinant of theirlong-term and strategic relationships with their main/core suppliers. In addition, thenegative and low loading on price denotes that the price variable is a relatively lessimportant selection criterion for ISO-certified companies.

Factor analysis for Question 3 (managerial support and employee involvementconstructs) for those respondents who had ISO certification is presented in Table 7 wherefactor one is called the managerial and communication (MC) factor. Questions 3(A) and3(E) were appropriately loaded with high factor loadings on MC factor. This factorenjoyed high Cronbach’s reliability and high percentage of variance explained. Thissignified that effective managerial support and establishing good communication channelswith employees were essential for attaining ISO certification for ISO-certified companies.Questions 3(B) and 3(C) were also appropriately with high factor loadings loaded on thesecond factor called employee involvement (EI). This showed that providing appropriatetraining for employees and involving them in the decision making process regardingquality were also essential for attaining ISO certification. Interestingly, the questionregarding the importance of cost did not load on any of the two factors indicating that costwas not viewed as an impeding factor for achieving ISO certification.

Interviews with the quality experts at maquiladoras regarding Question 3 showed thatmanagerial support was a key to successful implementation of ISO certification efforts.Employees needed to be cognisant of the managerial motivation and to know a clear

228 S. Dowlatshahi

reason for pursuing ISO certification. This, according to maquiladora experts, was also

essential for success of ISO certification.Factor analysis for Question 4 (managerial support and employee involvement

constructs) for those respondents who did not have ISO certification is presented in Table

8 where factor one (EI) is similar to factor two in Table 7. This indicated that the

respondents at non ISO-certified companies still believed that employee training and

involvement were important for achieving ISO certification. The respondents who were

predominately employees of these companies were aware of this important requirement for

achieving ISO certification.Maquiladora experts suggested that the lack of ISO certification may be viewed by

employees as a lack of their involvement in the company’s affairs. Interesting results were

obtained for factor two MC for non ISO-certified companies. The respondents appeared

to indicate that there was a lack of managerial support for achieving ISO certification.

The factor loading for managerial support in Table 8 was only 0.20 as opposed to the

factor loading of 0.98 for the same question in Table 7. Further, maquiladora experts

indicated that those companies that had successfully achieved ISO certification recognised

the essential role of managerial support while those companies that were not certified

viewed lack of managerial support as the reason for not having the ISO certification in the

first place. The fact that ‘importance of cost’ was included in the MC factor indicated that

employees of the non ISO-certified companies viewed cost as an important managerial

support issue, which was lacking in their companies. In other words, lack of financial

support for ISO certification endeavours was viewed as lack of managerial support and

commitment. Good communication channels with employees question was also properly

loaded on the MC factor as the respondents at non ISO-certified companies viewed it

important in achieving ISO certification. Factor analysis for Question 5 (quality systems

construct) for the respondents who did not have ISO certification is presented in Table 9

where the questions for ISO-certified companies were loaded appropriately onto two

factors. The first factor technical quality (TQ) appropriately included both technical

quality questions with high factor loadings. The remaining three questions were loaded on

quality management (QM) factor.These results along with interviews conducted with maquiladora managers showed

that ISO certified companies had to focus on two sets of distinct yet interrelated factors.

First, there is a need to satisfy the technical aspects of the quality systems such as having

SPC system in place. Second, these companies need to address the soft side of quality

dealing with human factors such as having continuous improvements plans in place. Both

of these quality systems seem to be essential to achieve ISO certification. The overall

results of this factor analysis indicated that the existence of effective quality systems was

essential for ISO-certified companies in maquiladoras to have achieved their ISO

certified status.Factor analysis for Question 6 (quality systems construct) for those respondents who

had ISO certification is presented in Table 10 which shows a muddled and confused

picture of the response from the respondents in non-ISO certified companies. The question

of whether your company employed consistent quality procedures, standards, and

practices, with very low factor loading, did not load on any of the existing factors. The

respondents mixed and loaded one technical quality question (the use of technical quality

systems such as SPC) with another quality management question (the use of continuous

improvements plans) onto technical quality factor.


According to interviews conducted with the maquiladora experts, the respondentsviewed the use of tools such as SPC as being quality management tools and not technicalquality tools. This is partially because the majority did not have many of the quality toolsin place in non-ISO certified companies. A similar situation existed for the QM factor as itmixed and loaded one technical quality question (having quality documentation in place)with another quality management system (having effective employee training andeducation programs (quality-related) in place). The interviews revealed that respondentsrequired training and education in order to be able to develop effective qualitydocumentation system in place. The overall results of this factor analysis indicated thatthe lack of existence of effective quality systems was detrimental for ISO-certifiedcompanies not to have achieved ISO certification.

6. Conclusions and assessment

This study investigated the role of the constructs of ISO certification in the maquiladoraindustry. There was no direct and significant literature that addressed the role of ISOcertification in the maquiladoras. The survey-based research was further enhanced byinterviews conducted with several maquiladora experts who had direct knowledge andexpertise in the field of quality, global supply chain, and ISO certification. The followingare some insights and assessments of the results gained as a result of this study.

The survey covered different industries, different quality experts, and different aspectsof ISO certification most relevant to maquiladoras. These were intended to shed light onthe challenges of attaining ISO certification in maquiladoras. The reliability and validitytests were performed. The results indicated that the survey and data obtained were reliableand valid.

Exploratory factor analysis established that companies with ISO certification placedmore emphasis on main/core supplier relationships (e.g. service and having the rightsuppliers) than non-ISO certified companies that tended to emphasise more on price anddelivery issues. The ISO-certified companies tended to have more cooperative and longer-term relationships with their main/core suppliers than non-ISO certified companies did.The major focus of non-ISO certified companies was on prices and delivery issues.This implied that relationships for non ISO-certified companies with their suppliers hadnot matured to the point that they had no worries about prices or delivery schedules.In short, there were two different and distinct strategic priorities pursued by ISO andnon-ISO certified companies with regard to main/core suppliers.

Exploratory factor analysis further revealed that ISO-certified companies focused onmanagerial communication-employee involvement and training as two essential constructsfor achieving ISO certification. The implementation cost for ISO-certified companies didnot appear to be a major concern for these companies. On the other hand, nonISO-certified companies believed that employee involvement and training were importantbut they also believed that there was not sufficient support from top management toimplement ISO certification. This statement implied that employees believed theirparticipation as well as managerial support was essential in attaining ISO certification.However, the lack of managerial support was considered to be a major deterrent toachieving ISO certification. The respondents in non ISO-certified companies alsoconsidered costs associated with achieving certification to be a deterrent and indicativeof lack of support from top management.

230 S. Dowlatshahi

The last set of exploratory factor analysis further revealed that ISO-certified companiesfocused on quality systems as an essential and positive construct for achieving ISOcertification. ISO certified companies appropriately focused on two sets of technical andmanagerial factors. There was a clear connection between this focus and the achievementof ISO certification. On the other hand, non-ISO certified companies mixed up andconfused technical with managerial quality questions. This confusion created no focusin their quality efforts and was a deterrent for achieving ISO certification.

One could further argue that maquiladoras, as manufacturing-centred operations,appear to be very sensitive to the availability of the sourcing, the continuation of theirsupply, and the impact that this availability has on their internal operations.

The results of this study could assist maquiladoras to improve their internal constructs(managerial support and employee involvement) as well as their external construct(supplier relationships) in order to have a better chance of achieving ISO certification.Likewise, the headquarters of the maquiladoras could benefit from the identification andrecognition of these internal and external constructs. The headquarters could provide thenecessary support and resources for achievement and enhancement of these internal andexternal constructs.

6.1 Future research directions

The results of the interviews with the maquiladora managers revealed that there was asignificant interest on the part of maquiladoras to seek ISO certification. Further researchcould verify the extent of such interest.

Additional similar studies can be conducted in other regions of maquiladoras in orderto ascertain whether similar results can be obtained. Other constructs can be explored andexamined to see whether there are any differences in ISO certification.

The cost seeking ISO certification and the managerial support for ISO certificationappear to be two major inhibitors of achieving ISO certification in maquiladoras. Furtherresearch on the impact of these two factors as inhibitors of ISO certification could beexplored.

Another area of future research direction could pertain to the comparison ofmaquiladoras performance (financial and otherwise) prior to obtaining ISO certificationand after obtaining ISO certification. This comparison can highlight the tangible effect ofISO certification.

Other ISO certifications beyond ISO 9000 could be considered for future studies inmaquiladoras. The results of those studies could be compared with this study.

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Appendix

1. Does your company have ISOcertification?

2. In choosing a main/core supplier, howwould you rate the following supplierselection criteria

1(A) Yes (ISO-certified companies) Supplier selection construct (Question 2)1(B) No (Non-ISO certified companies) 2(A) Quality

2(B) Price2(C) Service2(D) Right supplier2(E) Delivery lead time

3. If you answered ‘yes’ to Question 1(that your company has ISO certifica-tion), please rate the following ques-tions with regard to your achieving ISOcertification:

4. If you answered ‘no’ to Question 1 (thatyour company does NOT have ISOCertification), please rate the followingquestions:

Managerial support and employee involve-

ment constructs: ISO certified companies

(Question 3)

Managerial support and employee involve-

ment constructs: non-ISO certified com-

panies (Question 4)

3(A) How important was managerialsupport to your ISO success?

4(A) How important is managerial sup-port to achieving ISO certification?

3(B) How important was training to yourISO success?

4(B) How important is training toachieving ISO certification?

3(C) How important was employeeinvolvement to your ISO success

4(C) How important is employee involve-ment to achieving ISO certification?

3(D) How important was the cost ofachieving ISO certification to yourcompany?

4(D) How important is the cost ofachieving ISO certification to yourcompany?

3(E) How important were good commu-nication channels among manage-ment and employees in yourcompany?

4(E) How important are good communi-cation channels among managementand employees in your company?

5. If you answered ‘yes’ to Question 1(that your company has ISO certifica-tion), please rate the following ques-tions with regard to your achieving ISOcertification:

6. If you answered ‘no’ to Question 1 (thatyour company does NOT have ISOcertification), please rate the followingquestions:

Quality processes constructs: ISO certified

companies (Question 5)

Quality processes constructs: non-ISO cer-

tified companies (Question 6)

5(A) Did your company effectively useSPC (statistical process control),

6(A) Does your company effectively useSPC (statistical process control),

(continued )


process capability systems, andacceptance sampling plans?

process capability systems, andacceptance sampling plans?

5(B) Did your company have effectivequality documentation system inplace?

6(B) Does your company have effectivequality documentation system inplace?

5(C) Did your company have effectiveemployee training and educationprograms (quality-related) in place?

6(C) Does your company have effectiveemployee training and educationprograms (quality-related) in place?

5(D) Did your company employ consis-tent quality procedures, standards,and practices?

6(D) Does your company employ consis-tent quality procedures, standards,and practices?

5(E) Did your company effectively usecontinuous improvements plans?

6(E) Does your company effectively usecontinuous improvements plans?

234 S. Dowlatshahi

An empirical study of the ISO 9000 certification in global supply chain of maquiladoras

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