Impact of ISO 9000 on organizational climate: Strategic change management experience of an Indian organization

Purpose - ISO 9000 yields visible and concrete benefits to organizations in the form of sustained product quality, enhanced market image, increased customer satisfaction, and long-term profitability. However, the derivative impact of ISO 9000 on the human side of the organization, especially its impact on the internal human environment, has been only scantily researched. The purpose of this study is to explore how the process of ISO 9000 implementation transforms the components of organizational climate, particularly the climate motives existing in an organization. Design/methodology/approach - ISO 9000 system was deemed as the independent variable that could induce changes in organizational climate, the dependent variable. Climate was measured both before and after the implementation of ISO 9000, using Pareek's MAO-C instrument. Based on the scores obtained for the constituent climate motives, the patterns of organizational climate that prevailed in an organization both before and after ISO implementation were deciphered. Findings - Results reveal that as a result of ISO 9000 implementation the dysfunctional organizational climate motives such as control, dependency, and affiliation undergo a u-turn transformation giving way to the functional and conducive climate motives such as achievement, expert influence, and extension. Originality/value - The study endeavors to throw light on the favorable impact that ISO 9000 may have on organizational climate of organizations. The findings tend to prognosticate that when implemented well the ISO 9000 system could function not just as a quality enhancement instrument but in addition as a useful tool for strategic change management that could truly hold the potential for transforming both the character and performance of organizations.