An institutional perspective on the diffusion of international management system standards : the case of the Environmental management standard ISO 14001.

This paper analyzes how national institutional factors affect the adoption of the intemational environmental management standard ISO 14001, using a panel of 139 countries from 1996 to 2006. The analysis emphasizes that during the emerging phase of the standard, the potentiallack of consensus within the constituents of the national institutional environment conceming the value of a new standard could send mixed signals to firrns about the standard. The resuIts show that in the early phase of adoption, regulative and norrnative forces within the institutional environment can work against each other. Results also show that regulative or coercive forces playa relatively more important role in the early phase of adoption of the standard than in the subsequent phases of diffusion. In the later phases of diffusion of ISO 14001, norrnative forces, such as the diffusion of other management standards, as well as factors related to trade, playa more important role. Because of the similarities between environmental management standards and corporate social responsibility standards, this study can help identify sorne of the challenges for diffusion of ISO management standards in the area of social responsibility.Environmental management standard; ISO 14001;

Lagging behind versus advancing too fast? identifying gaps research in supply chain

The objective of our work is to analyze the evolution and actual trends of research in Supply Chain Management (SCM). We pretend to show how the different topics have been methodologically studied, and to determine how the advent of the so-called 'New Economy' has influenced SCM research. To get this objective, we carry out a literature review of twelve refereed journals in the Operations Management (OM) area for the period 1995-2001. Statistical tools are used to analyze the obtained information

The financial impact of ISO 9000 certification in the United States: an empirical analysis.

The ISO 9000 series of quality management systems standards, introduced in 1986, has been adopted at over 560,000 locations worldwide. Anecdotal evidence suggests that firms can achieve internal benefits such as quality or productivity improvements or that certification can help firms maintain or increase their market share, or both. Others argue that the standard is too generic to cause performance improvement but can be seen as a signal of good management. In this paper, we track financial performance from 1987 to 1997 of all publicly traded ISO 9000 certified manufacturing firms in the United States with SIC codes 2000–3999, and test whether ISO 9000 certification leads to productivity improvements, market benefits, and improved financial performance. We employ event-study methods, matching each certified firm to a control group of one or more noncertified firms in the same industry with similar precertification size and/or return on assets. We find that firms’ decision to seek their first ISO 9000 certification was indeed followed by significant abnormal improvements in financial performance, though the exact timing and magnitude of this effect depend on the specification of the control group. Three years after certification, the certified firms do display strongly significant abnormal performance under all control-group specifications. The degree to which the precise results vary across control-group specifications indicates that event studies should always include extensive sensitivity analysis, for instance matching by size and performance separately and jointly, using both single firms and portfolios as controls.ISO 9000; Quality management; Standards; Financial; Empirical; Event study; Compustat;

Deregulation and environmental differentiation in the electric utility industry.

This paper analyzes how economic deregulation impacts firm strategies and environmental quality in the electric utility industry. We find evidence that the deregulation introduced to this historically staid industry has stimulated environmental differentiation. Differentiation is most likely to appear where its point of uniqueness is valued by customers, and we confirm this relationship in our sample. Specifically, utilities that served customers who exhibited higher levels of environmental sensitivity generated more green power. The tendency for firms to differentiate in this way is lessened if they are relatively more dependent on coal-fired generation or relatively more efficient. Thus, there is evidence that firms sort themselves into either differentiation or low-cost strategies as the competitive realities of a deregulated world unfold. Deregulation and the ensuing environmental differentiation illustrate how utilities exploited formerly unmet customer demand for green power. The result has been greater levels of renewable generation and, hence, a cleaner environment.Deregulation; Environmental differentiation; Electric utility; Renewable energy; Productive efficiency;

U.S. state policies for renewable energy : context and effectiveness

Over the past decade, state policies on renewable energy have been on the rise in the U.S., providing states with various options for encouraging the generation of renewable electricity. Two promising policies, the Renewable Portfolio Standard(RPS)and the Mandatory Green Power Option(MGPO), have been implemented in many states but the evidence about their effectiveness is mixed. In this paper,we argue that recognizing the natural, social, and policy context under which MGPO and RPS are adopted is necessary in order to measure their true effectiveness. This is because the context rather than the policy might lead to positive outcomes and there is the possibility for sample bias. When controlling for the context in which the policies are implemented, we find that RPS has a negative impact on investments in renewable capacity. However, we find that investor owned utilities seem to respond more positively to RPS mandates than publicly owned utilities. By contrast, MGPO appears to have a significant effect on installed renewable capacity for all utilities regardless of the context in which it is implemented.Publicad

An institutional perspective on the diffusion of international management system standards : the case of the Environmental management standard ISO 14001

This paper analyzes how national institutional factors affect the adoption of the intemational environmental management standard ISO 14001, using a panel of 139 countries from 1996 to 2006. The analysis emphasizes that during the emerging phase of the standard, the potentiallack of consensus within the constituents of the national institutional environment conceming the value of a new standard could send mixed signals to firrns about the standard. The resuIts show that in the early phase of adoption, regulative and norrnative forces within the institutional environment can work against each other. Results also show that regulative or coercive forces playa relatively more important role in the early phase of adoption of the standard than in the subsequent phases of diffusion. In the later phases of diffusion of ISO 14001, norrnative forces, such as the diffusion of other management standards, as well as factors related to trade, playa more important role. Because of the similarities between environmental management standards and corporate social responsibility standards, this study can help identify sorne of the challenges for diffusion of ISO management standards in the area of social responsibility.Publicad

La investigación internacional en TQM : análisis de tendencias (1994-1999)

Durante las dos últimas décadas, la investigación en materia de TQM ha sido abundante y diversa. Resulta conveniente detenerse a agruparla, analizarla e identificarla, a efectos de contar con un cuerpo sistemático de conocimiento sobre la misma. Éste es el objetivo principal de este artículo y para ello se ha procedido a efectuar una detenida selección de las publicaciones a considerar como fuentes de referencia, -un total de 26 revistas escogidas, pertenecientes a los ámbitos de Dirección y Administración, Dirección Científica, Investigación Operativa y Dirección de la Producción, a la par que se han definido cuidadosamente los criterios para la selección de trabajos, -se seleccionaron un total de 198 para el periodo objeto de análisis: 1994-1999, así como los parámetros para su clasificación; por último, se ha aplicado el análisis de correspondencias a fin de identificar posibles estrategias de publicación de las revistas identificadas

Characterization of absorbent polymers for the removal of volatile hydrophobic pollutants from air

An emerging innovation for the treatment of polluted air consists in using a liquid–solid biphasic system, in which the sequestering phase contains inert polymer beads. The different polymers tested here for this purpose were; Hytrel® G3548L, Hytrel® G4078W, styrene butadiene copolymer, 28% and 31%, silicone rubber, PEBAX® 2533, and rubber tires. The selection of the most effective polymer(s) first requires a determination of the uptake of the pollutants by the solid phase in terms of key polymer properties such as partition coefficient, diffusion coefficient and biodegradability. RESULTS: A significant difference was found in the uptake levels of α-pinene from the gas phase for the different polymers tested. Based on partition coefficient measurements, relatively non-polar polymers such as Kraton® tend to uptake α-pinene better than polar ones, such as Hytrel®. A reduction in the partition coefficient of α-pinene into polymers in the presence of water has also been observed. It was also proven that the tested polymers are not biodegradable. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of α-pinene by the different polymers tested was determined and it was shown that such polymers could be used for air pollution control. Furthermore, their non-biodegradability justifies their use as absorbents. This paper provides a new opportunity to work with biofilters (BFs)/biotrickling filters (BTFs) using polymers as a sequestering phase

How "smart cities" will change supply chain management

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of smart city initiatives and big data on supply chain management (SCM). More specifically, the connections between smart cities, big data and supply network characteristics (supply network structure and governance mechanisms) are investigated. Design/methodology/approach - An integrative framework is proposed, grounded on a literature review on smart cities, big data and supply networks. Then, the relationships between these constructs are analyzed, using the proposed integrative framework. Findings - Smart cities have different implications to network structure (complexity, density and centralization) and governance mechanisms (formal vs informal). Moreover, this work highlights and discusses the future research directions relating to smart cities and SCM. Research limitations/implications - The relationships between smart cities, big data and supply networks cannot be described simply by using a linear, cause-and-effect framework. Accordingly, an integrative framework that can be used in future empirical studies to analyze smart cities and big data implications on SCM has been proposed. Practical implications - Smart cities and big data alone have limited capacity of improving SCM processes, but combined they can support improvement initiatives. Nevertheless, smart cities and big data can also suppose some novel obstacles to effective SCM. Originality/value - Several studies have analyzed information technology innovation adoption in supply chains, but, to the best of our knowledge, no study has focused on smart cities

La certificación ISO 9000, ¿es rentable?

Ayuda económica recibida del Programa de Investigación de la Región del Pacífico de la Universidad de California y del Centro Harold Price para Estudios Empresariales