Abstract

Much of the management literature has demonstrated the impact of quality approaches on firm business performance. However, only a limited number of studies have made attempts to examine the relationship between quality standards and employee’s outcomes. In order to fill this gap in the literature, we examine the impact of employee involvement as the most important dimension of quality approaches on working conditions. Using a two-stage instrumental variables approach (2SLS) on the sample of 198 employees from two ISO 9001 certified Montenegrin firms, the research results confirm that employee involvement positively influences working conditions. Accordingly, we conclude that quality standards may enhance working conditions if managers assure that suchstandards are implemented in line with employee involvement.

Key words: Employee involvement, working conditions, quality standards.