Technical Efficiency or Adaptation to Institutionalized Expectations? The Adoption of ISO 9000 Standards in the German Mechanical Engineering Industry

Abstract

In this paper we examine technical and internal organizational contingencies which encourage and discourage the adoption of institutionalized structural elements, namely ISO 9000 standards. The results show that the extent of customized production and a dominant influence of top management on quality control decisions reduce the likelihood of adopting ISO 9000 standards. However, the latter factor changes its influence significantly with greater organizational size and administrative intensity — two entities which increase the pressure to adapt to external expectations.