REASONS FOR TECHNOLOGY-BASED COMPANIES CONTEMPLATED BY THE FIRST COMPANY PROGRAM TO SEEK ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFICATION

Abstract

The search for implementation of Quality Management Systems aims to continuously improve their results. Thus, for the services and/or products offered to convey trust and credibility, they must be designed within appropriate norms and standards. However, It was observed that companies have different challenges regarding the certification. Furthermore, the reasons for the implementation of ISO 9001 could be different between them. In this sense, this study seeks to assess the reasons that induce incubated technology-based companies to seek adequacy of their quality management system to the NBR ISO 9001: 2008 standard. Through an exploratory survey in twenty-six incubated technology-based companies, a twelve-question questionnaire proposed by Bhuiyan and Alam (2005) was applied. After analyzing the data, it is concluded that the reasons for adequacy of QMS to the NBR ISO 9001: 2008 standard are: competitive advantage over competitors; consultant's approach for implementation; improvement in product quality; and government funding for ISO 9001 certification. It is found that the consultant's approach stands out as a strong reason for seeking the adequacy of QMS to the NBR ISO 9001 standard.