Determining factors that dominate the adoption of quality standards in the semiconductor industry: a BWM approach

Abstract

The topic of standardization is an underexamined research field. Let alone the specific case of quality standard adoption in the semiconductor industry this study focuses on. Quality standards are developed to distinguish low from high-quality products and set up production and development processes. Once standards have been developed, it is not guaranteed that companies will adopt them. Factors often influence adoption. In this thesis, the fictional name GCpuSol is given to an existing company in the semiconductor industry that adopted two quality standards, the ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. This name stands for Gpu Cpu Solutions. Due to privacy concerns the real name of the company has not been given. Both standards are quality management standards, on which they are periodically audited. With these two quality standards, GCpuSol formed an excellent company to study which factors affect the likelihood of adopting this category of standards. Hence, the main research question is which factors affect the adoption of quality standards in the semiconductor industry, according to experts? Factors have been found by conducting a literature review and by interviewing experts. First, three theories are examined that describe factors on the adoption of innovation and standards; the neo-institutional, network economics, and diffusion of innovation theory. Also, the Technology Organization Environment (TOE) framework has been used to find factors. After that, four structured interviews were followed with experts to find additional relevant factors. Consequently, a list of fifteen relevant factors was derived. The factors are: pressures from government organizations, pressure from non-government organizations, pressures from customer(s), pressures from big player(s), pressure from supplier(s), mimetic pressures, normative pressures, management support, centralization, formalization, organization size, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, and observability. These factors are separated into three categories: pressure from (external) stakeholders, organizational characteristics, and perceived characteristics of quality standards. Then, the factors had to be ranked by weighting them with a Multi Criteria Decision Making method; the so-called Best Worst Method is used. This research method was conducted with ten experts. Data from eight of them was consistent enough to be used for the remainder of the study. It turned out that the factors: pressure from customer(s), pressure from big player(s), and management support are the three most relevant factors. Based on quotes from the experts and the BWM results, it can be concluded that quality standards are adopted because they are a must-have for doing business. Customers and big players impose pressure on their clients to adopt quality standards. Pressure from customers describes customers that cannot be chosen, and business is done directly with these companies. Pressure from big players describes the companies that can be chosen; their influence can be denied by not doing business with them. However, their pressure will be transmitted via their customers to other companies in the value chain. The factor management support describes that the top management team makes the final decision on whether to adopt. Adoption will only happen when this group of employees agree. Thereby is it also the case that GCpuSol wants to distinguish themselves in this industry and that they are willing to work hard, structured, and orderly to accomplish goals. This led in the first place to the adoption of ISO 13485. They were among the first companies that adopted the ISO 13485. This study is one of the first to investigate the adoption of quality standards by using a list of determinants and weighing them on their importance with the BWM. Some new contributions have been made to the existing literature on standard adoption and the literature from which the factors are derived. Multiple factors from the neo-institutional theory indicates a strong relationship with the adoption of quality standards and two factors from the category, organizational characteristics, that have been derived from the TOE framework. It turns out that the factors can be minimally influenced. According to the experts, pressure from other companies can only be influenced by conversing with them. Once a customer imposes the adoption of a quality standard, one must adopt it. Denial might bring the risk of losing that customer.