The financial impact of standard stringency: An event study of successive generations of the ISO 9000 standard

While ISO 9000 has been shown to improve internal metrics of firm performance, external measurements may be unaffected. This paper examines the economic value of successive generations of the ISO 9000 standard by assessing the equity returns of 204 firms certified between 1999 and 2002. This study also examines the economic effects of ISO 9001:2000 versus the superseded 1994 standards. The complete sample experienced no significant changes in stock price. The market reaction to ISO 9001:2000 certification is significantly more positive than the reaction to ISO 9000:1994 registration. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.