Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis of ISO 9001 certification trends and innovation performance in South America

Purpose – The present paper aims to present an Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) of ISO 9001 certification trends and innovation performance in order to identify geographic patterns and spatial autocorrelation between performance innovation and annual growth rate of ISO 9001 certificates in South America.

Design/methodology/approach – Using secondary data regarding the number of ISO 9001 valid certificates and innovation indexes, our methodological procedure combines descriptive analysis and ESDA to verify spatial autocorrelation hypotheses and spill-over effects across countries.

Findings – The results reveal spatial patterns regarding the ISO 9000 certification trends in South American countries. The ESDA results call attention to the association of annual growth rate of ISO 9001 certificates with gross capital formation, expenditure on education, and high-tech manufacturing. In addition, the study points to spatial clusters regarding these measures.

Research limitations/implications- As the study relies on South American country data, future research should explore spatial patterns and spill-over effects using samples from other regions or continents.

Practical implications- This study discusses the association between ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems (QMS) and innovation performance from a geographic perspective. Moreover, the findings indicate associations between the demand for ISO 9001 certificates and innovation performance indicators.

Originality/value – This paper presents an exploratory study regarding the effect of innovation performance and ISO 9001 QMS certification in South American countries using ESDA techniques.

Paper type: Research paper.

ISO 9001, Quality Management, Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis.