Mapping ISO 9001:2015 Compliance in Ecuadorian SMEs: An HJ-Biplot and Cluster Analysis
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to quantify clause-level compliance and profile the types of organisations that drive this disparity.
Methodology/Approach: A structured questionnaire validated by certified auditors (Cronbach’s α = 0.83) was administered to 291 commercial, industrial, and service SMEs in Ecuador. The instrument covers all twelve ISO 9001 clause families. An HJ-Biplot analysis retained 70.1% of the total variance, and a k-means clustering approach, optimised using the Calinski–Harabasz index, segmented firms based on quality-management maturity level.
Findings: Three organisational strata emerged. High adherence was observed in Document Control, Product/Service Requirements, and Continuous Improvement, while Resource Procurement showed high uncertainty. Sector, legal structure, and foreign ownership were significant predictors of cluster membership.
Research Limitation/Implication: This study employed a cross-sectional design, which may not capture temporal improvements.
Originality/Value of paper: Beyond certification status, the findings highlight the importance of internalising leadership and planning clauses to achieve substantive quality gains. This study identifies key policy levers—training subsidies, soft credit lines, and best-practice diffusion—that can strengthen SME competitiveness in emerging markets.
Full text article
References
Ahmed, S.M., Panthi, K., Farooqui, R.U., Abreu, M., 2008. ISO 9001: 2000 and its Implementation in Dominican Republic Construction Industry.
Boiral, O., and Amara, N., 2009. Paradoxes of ISO 9000 Performance: A Configurational Approach. Quality Management Journal 16, 36–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/10686967.2009.11918240.
Corbett, C.J., Montes-Sancho, M.J., Kirsch, D.A., 2005. The Financial Impact of ISO 9000 Certification in the United States: An Empirical Analysis. Management Science 51, 1046–1059. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1040.0358.
Cronbach, L.J., 1951. Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests. Psychometrika 16, 297–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555.
International Organisation for Standardization, 2015. ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems—Requirements.
Levin, K.A., 2006. Study design III: Cross-sectional studies. Evid Based Dent 7, 24–25. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6400375.
Macqueen, J., 1967. Some methods for classification and analysis of multivariate observations. Berkeley Symp. on Math. Statist. and Prob., 1967: 281-297.
Magodi, A.Y., Daniyan, I.A., Mpofu, K., 2022. An Investigation of the Effect of the ISO 9001 Quality Management System on Small and Medium Enterprises in Gauteng, South Africa. The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering 33, 126–138. https://doi.org/10.7166/33-1-2521.
Mejía-Sulca, S., Pulido-Cajamarca, S., Caicedo-Atiaga, F., 2023. Influencia de la normativa INEN e ISO en las empresas del sector comercial de la provincia de Cotopaxi. Revista Publicando 10, 24–37. https://doi.org/10.51528/rp.vol10.id2365.
Psomas, E.L., Fotopoulos, C.V., 2009. A meta analysis of ISO 9001:2000 research – findings and future research proposals. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences 1, 128–144. https://doi.org/10.1108/17566690910971418.
Raina, S.K., 2014. Self weighing & non-probability samples. Indian Journal of Medical Research 140, 149.
Taherdoost, H., 2016. Sampling Methods in Research Methodology; How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3205035
Villardón, Ma P.G., 1986. Un alternativa de representación simultánea: HJ-Biplot. Qüestiió 10, 13–23.
Wolf, H.K., Kuulasmaa, K., Tolonen, H., Sans, S., Molarius, A., Eastwood, B.J., 2005. Effect of sampling frames on response rates in the WHO MONICA risk factor surveys. Eur J Epidemiol 20, 293–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-005-0600-3.
Zimon, D., Gajewska, T., Malindzakova, M., 2018. Implementing the Requirements of ISO 9001 and Improvement Logistics Processes in SMES Which Operate in the Textile Industry. Autex Research Journal 18, 392–397. https://doi.org/10.1515/aut-2018-0020.
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Maria Siguenza Peralta, Huber Echeverría, Walter Mario Vera Franco, Edwin Roberto Leon Sanchez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
Authors who publish with the Quality Innovation Prosperity agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.