ECOLOGICA, Vol.

31, No 113 (2024), 44-50

https://doi.org/10.18485/ecologica.2024.31.113.6
Originalni naučni rad
UDC: 006.027(497.11)

Empirical evidence on the benefits of applying quality standards

in Serbian companies

Empirijski dokazi o prednostima primene standarda kvaliteta u

srpskim kompanijama

Tatjana Janovac1*, Marijana Vukcevic2

1,2University Business Academy in Novi Sad, Faculty of Applied Management, Economics and Finance,
Jevrejska 24, Belgrade, Serbia /
Univerzitet Privredna akademija u Novom Sadu, Fakultet za primenjeni menadžment, ekonomiju i
finansije, Jevrejska 24, Beograd, Srbija
* Corresponding author / Autor za prepisku
Received / Rad primljen: 21.12.2023, Accepted / Rad prihvaćen: 02.02.2024.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the benefits of applying quality standards for the business of
organizations. Empirical research was conducted on the basis of an electronic survey in the period from September
to November 2023. Ninety- eight organizations from the territory of the Republic of Serbia that apply some of the
quality standards participated in the research. The results of the research indicate that the application of standards
had a greater impact on a more efficient way of working. The analysis of perceived benefits could be crucial for the
management of those organizations that have not yet implemented some of the quality standards. This research
points to the benefits of applying quality standards for the business of organizations from aspects such as: a more
efficient way of working; user and consumer satisfaction; Identification of business risk; preserving the environment,
increasing competitiveness.
Keywords: quality standards, more efficient way of working; user and consumer satisfaction; more rational use of
resources; preserving the environment, increasing competitiveness.

Sažetak: Svrha ovog rada jeste da se procene prednosti primene standarda kvaliteta za poslovanje organizacija.
Empirijsko istraživanje sprovedeno je na bazi anketnog istraživanja elektronskim putem u periodu od septembra
do novembra 2023.god. U istraživanju je učestvovalo 98 organizacija sa teritorije Republike Srbije koje primenjuju
neki od standarda kvaliteta. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju da standardi kvaliteta značajno doprinose kvalitetu
poslovanja organizacija naročito kroz efikasniji način rada. Analiza uočenih prednosti mogla bi biti ključna za
rukovodstvo onih organizacija koje još nemaju implementiran neki od standarda kvaliteta. Ovo istraživanje
ukazuje na prednosti primene standarda kvaliteta za poslovanje organizacija sa aspekta kao što je: efikasniji
način rada; zadovoljstvo korisnika i potrošača; Identifikacija poslovnog rizika; očuvanje životne sredine, povećanje
konkurentnosti.
Ključne reči: standardi kvaliteta, efikasniji način rada; zadovoljstvo korisnika i potrošača; racionalnije korišćenje
resursa; očuvanje životne sredine, povećanje konkurentnosti.

1orcid.org/0000-0001-7436-0752, e-mail: tatjana.janovac@mef.edu.rs,

2orcid.org/0009-0009-9137-3630, e-mail: marijana.vukcevic@mef.edu.rs

44
T. JANOVAC, M. VUKCEVIC EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE BENEFITS ...

INTRODUCTION organizations that want to successfully realize their

In the conditions of strong competition, unstable mission and goals, is to consider three aspects of
business environment, as well as changing user quality - marketing, business and social (Heleta,
requirements, quality is one of the key factors of the 1998). To constantly improve the quality of their
sustainability of organizations. Orientation to meet products and services, that is, to permanently dev-
the needs and expectations of users, permanent elop a culture of quality with the aim of achieving
improvement of the quality of products, services and customer satisfaction and long-term sustainability
all processes that exist in the organization's bus- (Mitrović et al., 2023; Dukić et al., 2023).
iness ensures the achievement of business succ- During recent years, many studies have tried to
ess. examine the relationship between quality managem-
Quality is an abstract concept depending on the ent and organizational performance (Hendricks &
needs, wishes and expectations of the user. In order Singhal, 1997; Al-Mamary et al., 2014; Lai & Cheng,
to direct the efforts of employees towards achieving 2005; Shaheen, 2022; Antony et al., 2022; Shafiq et
the goal, a general understanding of this concept is al., 2019; Milovanović et al., 2021). Likewise, there
necessary (Lai & Cheng, 2005). Researchers define are studies that were based on the effects of quality
quality management (QM) as a set of guiding princ- management in Serbian food companies (Djekic et
iples and management style applied by managers in al., 2014; Djordjevic et al., 2014; Tomašević et al.,
order to achieve competitiveness and organizational 2016) as well as in transport organizations (Žeželj,
success (Jaafreh & Al-abedallat, 2013; Ebrahimi & 2013). Considering the shortcomings of previous
Sadeghi, 2013). After conducting research, rese- studies, especially when it comes to research from
archers Malhotra et al. (1994) come to the concl- the territory of the Republic of Serbia, this paper
usion that the concept of quality management was a aims to point out the benefits of implementing quality
key strategic issue for companies in the 1990s. standards for the business of Serbian organizations,
(Robinson & Malhotra, 2005). Further development observing from aspects such as: more efficient way
of quality takes place towards achieving economic of working; user and consumer satisfaction; identif-
effects, thereby strengthening the quality function ication of business risk; preserving the environment,
that permeates all functions in the company. Effect- increasing competitiveness.
ive quality management involves a series of activ-
ities, including the development of a quality culture, 1. MATERIALS AND METHODS
measurement and evaluation of quality initiatives, Empirical research was conducted on the basis
alignment with organizational values, and continu- of an electronic survey in the period from September
ous improvement (Jaafreh & Al-abedallat, 2013). to November 2023. Ninety- eight organizations from
Developing a quality culture is essential for org- the territory of the Republic of Serbia that apply
anizations to achieve sustainable quality and cont- some of the quality standards participated in the res-
inuous improvement. This includes creating a com- earch. The basic task of the research was to exam-
mon understanding of quality throughout the organ- ine the views of the quality management manager or
ization, involving employees in quality improvement the employee responsible for the quality managem-
initiatives, setting clear quality goals and objectives ent system in the organization about the benefits of
(Kull & Wacker, 2010; Wu, 2015; Lapiņa et al., 2015; applying quality standards from aspects such as:
Srinivasan & Kurey, 2014; Saarikallio & Tyrväinen, more efficient way of working; user and consumer
2023). In order to maintain quality awareness, Juran satisfaction; better identification of business risk;
& Gryna (1993) propose constant quality measur- preserving the environment; increasing competitiv-
ement, which reinforces the idea of quality culture, eness.
which the same authors define as a model of human
Using the Likert scale, respondents expressed
habits, beliefs and behavior. This includes defining
metrics, collecting data, analyzing data, reporting their agreement with each statement that evaluates
results, taking action and continuous improvement. certain aspects of the application of quality standards
Many organizations accept the concept of total qual- by giving a rating on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 - very un-
ity management (TQM), which connects organizati- important, 2 - unimportant, 3 - neutral, 4 - important,
onal visions, missions, working principles and qual- 5 - very important). Hypothesis testing is made poss-
ity with meeting the needs of users. Different forms ible by the use of descriptive statistical indicators.
of quality management system (QMS) such as stat- 2. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
istical process quality control (SPC), quality assur-
ance (QA), quality standards and TQM are applied When it comes to the structure of the sample
to improve business and achieve customer satisf- based on company size, the sample is dominated by
action (Lai, 2003). Certainly yes recommendation to large companies with over 250 employees (30.6%),

ECOLOGICA, Vol. 31, No 113 (2024) 45

T. JANOVAC, M. VUKCEVIC EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE BENEFITS ...

followed by medium-sized companies with 10-50 To the research question which quality stand-
employees (25.5%), medium-sized companies with ards are implemented in your organization, the
50-250 employees (21.4%), and small businesses answers presented in Figure 2 were obtained.
with up to 10 employees with (22.4%) (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Company size based on the number of employees

Source: Own research

Figure 2 - Quality standards implemented in organizations

Source: Own research

Based on the research results, it can be seen

that the ISO 9001 standard is the most represented
in organizations (72.4%), followed by ISO 14000
(24.5%) and HACCP (21.4%), while the least
represented standards are GOST-R (1%), BRC
Standard (2%) and ISO 31000 (2%). Such a result
is expected if we take into account that the ISO 9001
standard is a generic standard and is compatible
with other standards, that is, the organization may
have another standard implemented in addition to
the ISO 9001 standard. Standards such as ISO
22000, HACCP, HALAL, GLOBAL GAP, Internat-
ional Food Standard (IFS), BRC Standard and ● Yes ● No
GOST-R standard are applied in food and agri-
cultural production, while standards such as ISO Figure 3 - Having a certificate for the standard/s
14000 - environmental management system, ISO Source: Own research
27000 - information security management system.
When asked whether the organization has a Of the 98 organizations that participated in the
certificate for the specified standard/s, the respond- research, 12 organizations do not have a certificate,
ents' answers are shown in Figure 3. that is, they did not go through the accreditation

46 ECOLOGICA, Vol. 31, No 113 (2024)

T. JANOVAC, M. VUKCEVIC EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE BENEFITS ...

process. It is assumed that these organizations are To the research question to what extent the
in the process of certification because they apply implementation of standards influenced a more
certain standards. efficient way of working, the respondents gave the
answer shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 - The impact of standards on a more efficient way of working

Source: Own research

The majority of respondents (46.9%) believe that 2% of the respondents believe that the implementat-
the implementation of the standard had complete ion of the standard had little impact on a more efficient
impact on the more efficient way of working, 34.7% of way of working.
the respondents believe that the implementation of To the research question to what extent the impl-
the standard had partial impact on the more efficient ementation of the standard affected the satisfaction
way of working, 16.3% took a neutral position, while of users and consumers, the answers obtained are
shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 - The impact of standards on user and consumer satisfaction

Source: Own research

The results show that the majority of respondents impact on the satisfaction of users and consumers,
(45.9%) believe that the implementation of the stan- while only 1% of respondents believe that the
dard had complete impact the achievement of user implementation of the standard had no impact on the
and consumer satisfaction, 35.7% of respondents achievement of user and consumer satisfaction.
believe that the implementation of the standard had To the research question to what extent the
partial impact the achievement of user and consumer implementation of the standard influenced the better
satisfaction, 13.3% took a neutral position, 4.1% beli- identification of business risk, the respondents' answ-
eves that the implementation of the standard had little ers are shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 - The impact of standards on business risk identification

Source: Own research

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T. JANOVAC, M. VUKCEVIC EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE BENEFITS ...

The responses of the majority of respondents business risk, and as many (8.2%) believe that the
(43.9%) indicated that the implementation of the implementation of the standard had no impact on
standard had a complete impact on better risk ident- better identification of business risk.
ification, 24.5% of the respondents believed that the To the research question to what extent the
implementation of the standard had a partial impact, implementation of the standards affected the pres-
15.3% took a neutral position, while 8.2% of the ervation of the environment, the respondents' answ-
respondents believed that the implementation of the ers are shown in Figure 7.
standard had a little impact the identification of

Figure 7 - The impact of standards on environmental protection

Source: Own research

The majority of respondents, 41.8%, believe that the implementation of the standard had no impact
the implementation of the standard had partial the preservation of the environment at all.
impact the preservation of the environment, 28.6% To the research question to what extent the
believe that the implementation of the standard had implementation of the standard influenced the con-
a complete impact on the preservation of the envir- quest of new markets and the increase of competit-
onment, 22.4% took a neutral position, 6.1% of the iveness, the respondents' answers are shown in
respondents believe that the implementation of the Figure 8.
standard had little impact , while 1 % believes that

Figure 8 - The impact of standards on conquering new markets and increasing competitiveness
Source: Own research

The results show that the majority of respond- Descriptive statistical indicators are shown in
ents, 39.8%, believe that the implementation of the Table 1.
standard had a complete impact the conquest of By displaying the mean values, it can be seen
new markets and increased competitiveness, 31.6%
that the highest mean value has the More efficient
of the respondents believe that the implementation
way of working aspect (Mean=4.27). The aspect
of the standard had a partial impact, 19.4% took a
neutral position, and 4.1% of the respondents beli- Identification of business risk has the lowest mean
eve that the implementation of the standard had little value (Mean=3.88). This result is also understand-
impact, and 5.1% of respondents believe that the able if we take into account the fact that only 2% of
implementation of the standard had no impact at all the organizations that participated in the research
on conquering new markets and increasing compet- have implemented the ISO 31000 risk management
itiveness. standard.

48 ECOLOGICA, Vol. 31, No 113 (2024)

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Table 1 - Descriptive statistical indicators

Business aspects Mean Variance Std. Deviation
A more efficient way of working 4.27 0.651 0.756
User and consumer satisfaction 4.21 0.809 0.900
Preservation of the environment 3.91 0.847 0.920
Identification of business risk 3.88 1,655 1.286
Increasing competitiveness 3.97 1.226 1.107
Source: Own research

The results of the research indicate that the This research complements the existing literat-
application of quality standards through aspects ure on the benefits of applying quality standards for
such as a more efficient way of working, user and the business of organizations, observing from asp-
consumer satisfaction, environmental protection, ects such as: more efficient way of working; user
identification of business risk and increased comp- and consumer satisfaction; better identification of
etitiveness contributes to the quality of business business risk; preserving the environment, incre-
operations of organizations. Similar results were asing competitiveness. Analysis of the perceived
reached by researcher Milovanović et al. (2021) who benefits of implementing quality standards could be
show that the certification of companies according crucial for the management of those organizations
to the ISO 9001 standard contributes to the impr- that have not yet implemented any of the quality
ovement of the operational and market performance standards. The limitation of this study refers to the
of the company. Another interesting study was cond- fact that the relationship between the activities of the
ucted by Spanish researchers Heras et al. (2001).
organization and the implemented standards was
on a sample of 500 companies. The results of this
not taken into consideration.
research indicate that the application of the ISO
9000 standard affects the economic results of comp- Future research will be focused on the analysis
anies as well as the standardization of work proced- of the importance of the implementation of stand-
ures, improving the definition and responsibilities of ards from aspects such as increasing profits, rati-
workers. onalizing the use of resources, fulfilling legal oblig-
ations, and information security etc.
CONCLUSION
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