Since its introduction in 1987 the ISO 9000 series of standards has become a worldwide success, with it now considered as the minimum standard for a quality management system. The number of ISO 9001 certified companies is increasingly annually. This paper presents the results of research aimed at assessing if the motives for obtaining ISO 9001 certification, and the perceived impacts to be derived from ISO 9001 certification, are seen to vary across different industrial sectors. The study uses a two-phase sequential explanatory mixed methods design, with quantitative data collected from 111 organisations and qualitative data collected from four organisations in the first and second phases respectively. Results show that there are significant statistical differences in the motives for obtaining ISO 9001 certification and also show statistically significant differences in the impacts of ISO 9001 certification based on industrial sector. These results provide a useful addition to the present knowledge in the study of ISO 9001 certification in terms of impact.
