Title: The effectiveness of quality management system ISO 9001:2015 in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Sohaib Warsi; Hemaid Alsulami; Abdulaziz S. Alkabaa

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: The latest International Organization for Standardization (ISO) survey showed that 878,664 ISO 9001 valid certificates exist in Saudi Arabia. Thus, the Saudi expends 71 M. Saudi Riyals on ISO 9001 renewal certificates. Several studies conducted in Saudi Arabia have studied ISO 9001 from different perspectives and mostly focused only on manufacturing organisation. In comparison, this research studies the overall effectiveness of ISO 9001 applied in Saudi Arabia, considering both public and private sectors and non-profit organisations (NPOs). Twelve hypotheses were employed to answer the research questions, which were tested using the binomial test. The results revealed that 10 out of 12 hypotheses were rejected (i.e., indicating that the standards were not effectively applied). The research concludes that ISO 9001 is not effectively implemented in Saudi Arabia and can be utilised to help the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) to investigate and analyse this issue on a massive scale.

Keywords: quality management; International Organization for Standardization; ISO 9001; performance management; Vision 2030; KSA; non-profit organisations; NPOs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2023.130869

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2023 Vol.39 No.1, pp.66 - 96

Received: 22 May 2021
Accepted: 19 Jun 2021
Published online: 13 May 2023 *

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