Management systems integration: lessons from an abandonment case

• A literature review provides an exhaustive list of integration case studies.
• Integration is seen as a complex management phenomenon.
• A roadmap is provided to identify reasons for the failure of integration.
• Decertification can be induced from a low-performing integration process.
• The integration approach may affect the management system's sustainability.

There is a growing belief that the integration of multiple management systems with its holistic view of a business context encompasses all management activities, both certifiable and non-certifiable, adds value and, thus, enhances the sustainable development of organizations. Therefore, several conceptual frameworks have been composed and the empirical research on the integration attributes has emerged. However, a link in the chain is missing to connect the theoretical and the empirical advancement of integration. Therefore, this research focuses on the possibility of failure of an integrated management system in a real-world setting by investigating how and why the system gradually declined. On the way to answering the research questions the related risks are revealed. The withdrawal of top management commitment is initially identified as the main cause of the abandonment. However, the case analysis goes one step further and unveils the underlying interdependencies that led to the integrated system's failure. It is concluded that the initial integration approach and the imbalanced development of the integrated system's components were the root causes of failure. By highlighting the risks the ultimate research purpose is twofold: first, to increase awareness of all interested parties, and, second, to bring closer academics and practitioners so that proactive measures are taken and the integration potential is exploited to its full extent.