ISO 20000 service management standard: Motivations and key factors to implement

Purpose – ISO 20000 (approved in 2005 and revised in 2011) defines the requirements for implementing a standardized service management system, adopting a form similar to the pre-existent general quality management standards while adapting its contents to standardize Information Technologies Service Management (ITSM) practices, although there is nothing to impede it being used in other service management fields. This article analyses the motives for and key factors in implementing the ISO 20000 Service Management Standard.
Methodology – This paper employs methodologies that have been previously used to study other standards (Casadesús et al., 2001; Gotzamani and Tsiotras, 2002). This way, the research is based on a survey that was answered by 105 ISO 20000 Spanish certified organizations. It enables the profile of these organizations, as well as their main reasons and key factors when implementing the standard, to be characterized.
Findings – Motives are divided into external and internal factors and, as such, reveal the predominance of external reasons when deciding to implement the certification. Furthermore, some key factors in successfully implementing the standard are highlighted, especially in terms of management and staff involvement. Moreover, other specific factors have also been analysed: such as the norms with those are it integrated, as well as the reasons as to why some organizations abandonment the certificate.
Originality/value – This article is the first one in the literature that two fundamental issues related to the implementation of ISO 20000 standard: the reason behind implementing the standard and what its adoption key factors are.

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ISO 20000, ITIL, ITSM, Management standards.