Abstract: . . .  gradually worsening performance. By using ROA as our perform- ance measure, we deliberately take a wide range of costs and benefits into account, including those that are indirect or difficult to quantify, and hence are normally excluded from any narrow cost-benefit analysis of whether to seek certification. The fact that certification led to relative improvements in ROA does not nec- essarily translate into specific improvements that can be predicted and captured in such a cost-benefit analysis. This is exacerbated by the fact that the performance improvements are not absolute but relative, and contribute to maintaining, rather than improving financial perform- ance. Altogether, this leads us to a seemingly contradictory conclusion: the decision . . .
. . .  University of California, Los Angeles, USA. We are grateful for financial support from the University of California Pacific Rim Research Program and from the Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The first author received funding from ISO Central Secretariat for a different study on global diffu- sion of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. After deciding to seek their first ISO 9000 certification, firms have made changes that, directly or indirectly, led to relative improvements in ROA, both through superior cost control and higher sales  . . .
. . .  University of California, Los Angeles, USA. We are grateful for financial support from the University of California Pacific Rim Research Program and from the Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The first author received funding from ISO Central Secretariat for a different study on global diffu- sion of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. After deciding to seek their first ISO 9000 certification, firms have made changes that, directly or indirectly, led to relative improvements in ROA, both through superior cost control and higher sales  . . .
. . .  of California, Los Angeles, USA. We are grateful for financial support from the University of California Pacific Rim Research Program and from the Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The first author received funding from ISO Central Secretariat for a different study on global diffu- sion of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. After deciding to seek their first ISO 9000 certification, firms have made changes that, directly or indirectly, led to relative improvements in ROA, both through superior cost control and higher sales  . . .
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