Abstract :
Management system standards, also called meta-standards, have been adopted by an
increasing number of organizations across the world. Although these management
system standards are based on the same type of management principles and institutional
arrangements, the literature remains scattered, with diverse studies focused on specific
standards and published in various journals. The main objective of this paper is to
analyse the academic research on meta-standards through an integrative review
intended to shed light on the main conclusions and substantial advances made in this
area. This integrative review focuses more specifically on the two main meta-standards
which have been adopted by more than 1.3 million organizations worldwide: ISO 14001
and ISO 9001.The paper contributes insights into the main streams of the literature and
current knowledge gaps to be addressed in future research on the various issues related
to meta-standards: global governance, diffusion processes, motivations, benefits of
adoption and impacts on performance, internalization, integration, consultancy and
auditing.
