The trade-off between generality and effectiveness in certification systems: A conceptual framework

The following study provides a conceptual framework explaining certification trends in the food sector. A growing number of certification systems indicates the importance of third party audits but this development also leads to an escalating variety of certification schemes. This implies the danger of "audit tourism" and, as a consequence, rising transaction costs. Therefore, the driving forces of this differentiation process will be analysed. The trade-off between generality of the system and its effectiveness is revealed which can be traced back to the disadvantages of general management system audits.