The impact of ISO 9000 and TQM on best practice/performance Available to Purchase

Companies, irrespective of size or sector, often use ISO 9000 and TQM as a route to world class status. The aim of this paper is to show if this has had any impact on or contributed to raising their competitiveness. This paper gives brief details of a large‐scale UK benchmarking study on the adoption of best practice which provides the data for this research. Then the distinguishing features of some best practices and performance within both ISO and non‐ISO companies are presented for the manufacturing sector. The significance of any correlations between practice and performance are also put forward for further consideration. Finally, the lessons to be learnt from this empirical evidence are drawn out.