Efrosini Siougle, Sophia Dimelis and Nikolaos Malevris
This study explores the link between ISO 9001 certification, personal data protection and firm performance using financial balance sheet and survey data. The security aspect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the link between ISO 9001 certification, personal data protection and firm performance using financial balance sheet and survey data. The security aspect of data protection is analyzed based on the major requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation and mapped to the relevant controls of the ISO/IEC 27001/27002 standards.
Design/methodology/approach
The research analysis is based on 96 ISO 9001–certified and non-certified publicly traded manufacturing and service firms that responded to a structured questionnaire. The authors develop and empirically test their theoretical model using the structural equation modeling technique and follow a difference-in-differences econometric modeling approach to estimate financial performance differences between certified and non-certified firms accounting for the level of data protection.
Findings
The estimates indicate three core dimensions in the areas of “policies, procedures and responsibilities,” “access control management” and “risk-reduction techniques” as desirable components in establishing the concept of data security. The estimates also suggest that the data protection level has significantly impacted the performance of certified firms relative to the non-certified. Controlling for the effect of industry-level factors reveals a positive relationship between data security and high-technological intensity.
Practical implications
The results imply that improving the level of compliance to data protection enhances the link between certification and firm performance.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature by empirically testing the influence of data protection on the relationship between quality certification and firm performance.
Details
Keywords
Efrosini Siougle and Sophia Dimelis
This is a longitudinal study exploring the effect of ISO 9000 certification on firm's financial performance in the pre-crisis period and the 2008 financial crisis period.
Abstract
Purpose
This is a longitudinal study exploring the effect of ISO 9000 certification on firm's financial performance in the pre-crisis period and the 2008 financial crisis period.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is based on a 22-year dataset with balance sheet data from 136 Greek listed firms covering the period 1992–2013. A matching technique is applied to properly estimate potential differences in the impact of ISO 9000 on firm's financial performance between the groups of certified and matched non-certified (control) firms in the entire period but, most importantly, in pre-crisis vs crisis periods, using the difference-in-differences econometric approach.
Findings
The findings indicate that certified firms exhibit significantly higher financial performance relative to the matched non-certified group in both the pre-crisis and crisis periods, which tends to persist for several years post-certification. The financial crisis has a negative and statistically significant effect on firm performance in both the certified and matched non-certified groups, which nevertheless did not differ significantly between them. Controlling for sectoral and technological differences did not harm the higher performance of certified firms relative to the matched control peers. The results remain in the same direction when the authors test the ISO 9000 effect in the sub-group of certified firms that obtained the certification at the firm-level.
Originality/value
The study is original in its sample design and hypothesis testing. The matched sample created from a sufficiently long and continuous time dataset enabled the authors to properly estimate firm performance differences of ISO 9000 between pre-crisis and crisis periods. Of additional value is the testing of sectoral/technological differences and the distinction between firm-level and plant-level certification.