The acquiring of the knowledge about standards in the digital era

The knowledge from external sources has been recognized as critical for improving the capabilities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be competitive on the global market. The aim of this paper is to explore main factors which affect SMEs' choice of a dominant source for acquiring information and the knowledge about standards. The questionnaire survey research method was used to seek the response from representatives of 130 SMEs operating in Serbia. Our findings indicate four sources - relevant websites, services of consultants, inputs of customers as well as information received from business partners. Our results showed that larger SMEs, with a longer tradition in business, will have more chances to use Websites as a primary source for gaining knowledge about standards. Domestic SMEs shape their decisions to hire consultants predominantly because of a negative perception of standards. The usage of customer inputs as a dominant source for gaining information and transfer of knowledge about standards are influenced by SMEs' experience in business and negative perception of the benefits of standards. In the digital era, SMEs still suffer from a lack of resources or capabilities to use the Web and the Internet for acquiring information and knowledge about standards in the digital era.