Three hypotheses will be contrasted to address the two objectives proposed (Table II).
The two first are related to the first objective whereas the last one is related to the
second.
H1a. The diffusion pattern of the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards on a global
scale follows a logistic curve.
H1b. The diffusion pattern of the ISO 14000 standard applied to an individual
country follows a logistic curve (as does the ISO 9000).
H2. The evolution of both standards, ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, through different
economic activity sectors has been similar.
The methodology proposed is developed in four separate phases. The first two analyze
the diffusion model over time, the first objective of this research, in Section 4 of this
paper, while the other two analyze the sectors involved, the second objective, in
Section 5.
It must be remembered that the focus of this paper is not on explaining why these
standards are diffused, but rather on how they diffuse, in the sense of how fast and
how extensively. We are more interested in analyzing the diffusion rates and the
evolution of the quantity of certificates than in the reasons for the diffusion. Although
stress is placed on quantitative aspects, we will also attempt to explain the different
growth rates for each norm. The first stage of our investigation will begin by analyzing, on a world wide scale, if
the model based on the logistic curve, proposed by Franceschini et al. (2004), can only
be adapted to explain the evolution of ISO 9000 certifications, or whether similar
models can also be used to analyze the evolution of ISO 14000 certifications.
Similar behavior would indicate that the diffusions of standards follow, in principle,
similar parameters, although a certain temporal mismatch has already been detected.
In the second stage, we will investigate whether these models can be used solely in
terms of data gathered at the world wide level, or whether they can also be adapted to
each individual country involved, as Franceschini et al. (2004) showed for different
European countries. To do this, bearing in mind the difficulty involved in analyzing all
the countries involved, four countries were selected for analysis: Spain, because it is the
authors’ country of origin, as well as the third country in the world ranking of absolute
growth during 2002, with 1,164 new ISO 14000 certifications; the United Kingdom,
because it is a country with a strong tradition of ISO 9000 certification; the USA,
because of recent strong growth in both standards, and its potential for very
considerable growth due to its economic power; and finally, Japan, because of its
spectacular growth, making it currently one of the world leaders in ISO 14000
certifications. It should be pointed out that the case of Japan is rather special since
many Japanese companies, not without reason, believed at first that their own quality
management practices were superior to those applied in the countries that were
ISO 9000 pioneers and that certification would, therefore, be a step backwards.
Nevertheless, due to the demands of their European customers in 1990s, Japanese
companies subsequently began to seek ISO 9000 certification. This led to completely
different behavior with respect to ISO 14000 from the very beginning (Corbett and
Kirsch, 1999).
Thirdly, it would also be interesting to find out whether the diffusion process has
proceeded in a relatively homogenous way in the different sectors of activity or if, on
the contrary, certification has clearly occurred more quickly in certain ones. Given that
it is practically impossible to analyze all the sectors in all the countries involved,
an analysis has been carried out using indices of concentration and instability. The
concentration index will show whether or not a large number of certifications are
grouped together in just a few sectors of economic activity, whereas the instability
index will give us an idea of the capacity of each sector to maintain its relative position
within the ranking.
Finally, the fourth stage aims to check if there is any relationship between sectors
certified according to one standard or the other by carrying out an analysis of
non-parametric resistance. We want to contrast whether the leading sectors in
implementing the ISO 9000 standard have also been pioneers in the implementation of
ISO 14000. Verifying that the sectors involved are very similar would provide more
arguments in favor of the similarity of diffusion of the two standards, as well as of the
possible future standards.