AN EXPLORATORY SURVEY ON THE TOPIC INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Purpose - This article aims to analyse publications about Integrated Management Systems (IMS) and identify research opportunities. We verify that the number of international Management System Standards has grown rapidly such as: Quality Management (ISO 9001), Environmental Management (ISO 14001), Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Standard (OHSAS 18001), and Corporate Social Responsibility (AA1000). Their structures are similar and can be combined in a single management model, organized with a basis in the P (Plan), D (Do), C (Check) and A (Act) cycle. They can be jointed in a single Integrated Management System (IMS) due implementing these standards in parallel requires many duplicate management tasks. Design/methodology/approach - This article presents a literature review, which aims to analyse the scientific publications on the IMS theme and identify research opportunities. We used the EndNote X7 software (trial version) to identify, select, and index scientific articles. Our search presents five steps: (1) Definition of the research, (2) Search in the database, (3) Primary triage, (4) Search for the resulting, (5) Results, trends and suggestions Findings - We pointed out in articles' portfolio: the country of the first author, number of articles per year, number of articles published by each journal, number of articles per author, and some benefits and difficulties in IMS implementation. Research limitations/implications- Limitations of this article include the bibliometric criteria, i.e. the search options originally defined by the researchers. Other approaches could have been explored in the bibliometric such as the methodological approaches of the articles in the portfolio, detailing the types of qualitative and quantitative studies, for example. Moreover, this kind of research demands updates constantly due the dynamic of scientific publications, in this area, around the world. Practical implications - The article provides a big picture for the adoption of integrated practices in management systems, as well as some drivers and obstacles for IMS implementation. Originality/value - We highlighted the importance of strategically positioning of the IMS within the organization involving entire product chain and stakeholders.