Effectiveness of Certifications as a Tool for Internationalization of Companies in the Wood-Furniture

In recent years, European economies have been experiencing a climate of persistent uncertainty, fueled by a succession of events (Brexit, trade wars between the United States, China and the European Union, Covid pandemic, war in Ukaine) capable of affecting the economic dynamics worldwide and making forecasts and expectations much more difficult or even impossible. In 2019, before the pandemic, the deceleration of world growth (+ 2.9%, from +3.6 in 2018) generated a slowdown in international trade (+ 1%, compared to +3.7 in the previous year) (Costa and Vicarelli, 2020). In the following years, the pandemic and more recently the dramatic worsening of the war in Ukraine put in question the bases of globalization as they occurred in previous decades, making business choices more complex and even more uncertain. In this context, the globalization-related processes are requiring an increasing capacity for reducing complexity and obstacles along the global value chains, by enforcing coordination and cooperation between companies, including the adoption of internationally shared technical and organizational standards (Nisi and Soriani, 2020). With regard to business processes, Quality Management Systems Standards, which affect multiple aspects of business activities, from the quality of processes (ISO 9001), to the environmental impact (ISO 14001 and EMAS III), health and worker safety (OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001) and Corporate Social Responsibility (SA 8000), represent a tool for monitoring all phases of the value chain in which the company is inserted (Murmura et al, 2017; Bravi et al., 2019; Bravi et al., 2020). Previous literature on internationalization of companies has analyzed these topics mainly considering the consumers' perspective (Bursi et al., 2012), but numerous studies have also been conducted with reference to relationships between firms (Matarazzo et al., 2018), or to specific sectors (Aiello et al., 2015). However, in sectors with a higher content of innovation, technology and design, such as the wood-furniture industry, the literature appears to be poor in contributions. Based on these reflections, the paper proposes a contribution to fill the gap highlighted, by deepening the role of process certifications in the competitiveness strategies of companies, with specific reference to the wood-furniture sector. The work has the aim of investigating what the adoption of process certifications entails for companies in terms of perceived benefits or barriers, and if standards are considered a useful support for company internationalization. As regards the methodology adopted, a structured e-mail questionnaire was sent in November 2021 to a representative sample of Italian companies in the wood-furniture sector, using Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI), investigating the internationalization level of companies, the weight of foreign markets on turnover, as well as the influence and impact of certifications on international activities. In total 247 companies participated in the survey. The results show that the link between export and certifications constitutes a strong impetus for the adoption of management system certificates; in addition to supporting productivity, in fact, certifications help companies to better integrate into international value chains, standardizing production processes located in different countries, increasing the efficiency of business processes, improving their performance. Moreover, for most of the sample, having adopted a certification meant consolidating their position in the market, thanks to the greater reliability of the company, of which the certification guarantees, especially in the eyes of new potential customers. Therefore, it emerges that certified companies obtain greater advantages on international markets than not-certified ones. On the other side, certifications bring to an increase in bureaucracy and company costs, affecting in some cases flexibility and speed in responding to market requirements. For companies without international experience and with no knowledge about foreign markets, facing new competitive contexts represents an obstacle that leads to postpone the decision to export (Musso and Francioni, 2013; Francioni et al., 2013). In these cases, if the need and opportunity arise, they only gradually commit resources depending on the foreign market reaction (Goedhuys and Sleuwaegen, 2016). Having a Quality Management System helps to get acceptance and legitimation in foreign markets, reducing time for market exploration and reputation construction. In case of indirect exporting, it increases the efficiency of local intermediaries. The results of this study provide support for the effectiveness of international standards as elements of a marketing strategy aiming at facilitating and accelerating the acquisition of new customers in international markets. Moreover, the certification process exposes companies to new organizational frameworks, pushing them to quickly absorb new and improved organizational procedures, helping them to develop a common language to streamline and coordinate operations with customers and suppliers, preparing them for exporting and managing activities in international markets in a better organized way.