Education about standardization as the foundation for the expertise development of SMEs

Abstract

Considering that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are seen as the backbone of the global economy and the ones that (against all odds) stand to gain the most from using and developing standards, the study aims at exploring does expertise in standardization exist in SMEs. To collect data, the semi-structured interview via e-mail was used, as it seems to be much more comprehensive than the questionnaire. To analyze data, the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) and the qualitative content analysis method were used as the most suitable methods for analyzing data from subject matter experts. The data collected from a total of 28 experts from 14 countries was analyzed. Finally, five conclusions were determined - (1) expertise resides in all SMEs, (2) ... but not the expertise in standardization, (3) ... so external experts might be needed to support them, (4) education about standardization is crucial for the development of expertise in standardization, (5) ... but only as a support for lifelong learning.