Factors for improving performance in ISO 9001 certified small- and medium-sized service enterprises

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that are important for improving the performance of ISO 9001 certified small- and medium-sized service enterprises (SMSEs). Design/methodology/approachPreliminary research questions were set on the basis of a literature review and then submitted to a Delphi panel of experts. The results from the Delphi panel were transformed into hypotheses in the form of a survey. A sample comprising 115 Italian SMSEs answered the survey, which also included specific fields for qualitative notes. The hypothesis tests used 95% confidence intervals, and notes and suggestions from the respondents were also collected. FindingsThe findings relate to the role and responsibilities of the quality manager, as well the entrepreneur and partners, the quality of the enterprise culture, training, awareness concerning process key performance indicators, visual management and modern digitised documentation and communication. Furthermore, criticisms emerged regarding the ISO 9001 standard in terms of cost of quality measurement, day-to-day improvement and problem-solving. Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to SMSEs. The limitations of this research open avenues for further research. In particular, many suggestions from the respondents seem generalisable to other industries and also to large manufacturing firms. Practical implicationsThe findings of this research could be used as a guideline for implementing ISO 9001 in the SMSE sector. Moreover, some of the criticisms could be taken into account for the next revision of the ISO 9001 standard. Originality/valueThis is one of the first papers to discuss important factors for improving the performance of ISO 9001 in the SMSE sector.