ISO-9001 implementation and critical success factors of the Jordanian consulting engineering firms

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims at studying the level of implementation of ISO 9001 in Jordanian consulting engineering firms and to what extent does the implementation effectiveness affect the success of the construction projects. Moreover, the paper seeks to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that directly influence the ISO 9001 effectiveness in Jordanian consulting engineering firms.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was constructed and distributed to a sample of 125 employees from six ISO 9001-consulting firms. After collecting the data, exploratory factor analysis was utilized to validate the latent constructs (CSFs, ISO 9001 Effectiveness, and Firm Performance).

Findings

The findings suggest that firms experience a high level of ISO 9001 effectiveness. Moreover, among the five identified CSFs; employee attributes, external environmental pressure and quality system attribute had a significant impact on the ISO 9001 effectiveness, while internal motivation and firm attributes were insignificant.

Originality/value

The significance of this study lies in exploring such topic in the developing countries, since most of current studies were focused on developed contexts such as the USA and UK. Therefore, this research acts as a response to calls in the current literature regarding considering different industries and contexts.

Citation

Sweis, R., AL-Huthaifi, N., Alawneh, A., Albalkhy, W., Suifan, T. and Saa'da, R. (2022), "ISO-9001 implementation and critical success factors of the Jordanian consulting engineering firms", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 71 No. 4, pp. 1407-1425. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-11-2019-0535