There are a few useful case studies about the financial performance of companies that have achieved ISO 9000 certification. Even though ISO 9000 is a Quality Management rather than an Environmental Management System standard, the fact that it yields economic benefits is indirect support for adopting an EMS. There are four studies demonstrating at least a correlation between ISO 9000 certification and financial performance. They are in chronological order:

1. 1999: Northern Ireland Study

Study author Rodney McAdam examined the experiences of small businesses of fewer than 100 workers in Northern Ireland. The thrust of the study is that small companies can achieve positive business results despite the relatively high costs of ISO 9000 certification. According to McAdam, ISO 9000-certified small businesses were five times more likely to experience at least some benefits from ISO 9000 than small businesses without certification.

2. 2002: UCLA Study

This study demonstrates a causal link between ISO 9000 and performance. The study authors paired publicly traded U.S. companies with similar return on assets (ROA) in three industrial sectors (chemicals, computer equipment and electronic equipment) and showed what happened when one of the companies attained ISO 9000 certification and the other didn't. In just about all cases, the ISO 9000 company had substantially higher ROAs in the subsequent 10 years than the non-ISO company against which it was paired. (Corbett et al.; see "The Financial Impact of ISO 9000 Certification in the U.S.: An Empirical Analysis," UCLA Anderson School of Management, 2002).

3. 2002: Basque Region Study

This is a study of 800 businesses, 400 of which were ISO 9000-certified and 400 of which were not. The former companies had significantly better sales and profitability than the latter. However, the authors concluded that there wasn't enough evidence to prove that certification caused the former company's superior performance; it was the propensity to pursue certification, rather than its achievement that might have created the success. In other words, companies that want to be certified are likely to be more successful than companies that don't; but companies don't necessarily reap success after achieving certification. (Heras et al., "ISO 9000 Registration's Impact on Sales & Profitability: A Longitudinal Analysis," International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Sept. 2002, p. 774).

4. 2003: U.S. Study

This study evaluates the linkage between ISO 9000 certification and benefits to shareholders of public companies by assessing the stock performance of ISO and non-ISO companies. Results: Companies that achieved ISO 9000 certification had higher stock price growth. The study found that $100,000 invested in a portfolio of non-ISO companies would have been valued at $424,000 nine years later. But the same $100,000 invested in ISO companies over the same period would have been valued at $814,000. (Rajan and Tamimi, 2003).

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