Paving the Road to Global Markets: How Increasing Participation in International Standards Development Can Boost Exports From Small and Medium Enterprises

Paving the Road to Global Markets: How Increasing Participation in International Standards Development Can Boost Exports From Small and Medium Enterprises

Diane (Xiaolu) Liao, Michelle Parkouda
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 19
DOI: 10.4018/IJSR.319023
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Abstract

While tariff barriers have drastically reduced around the world, non-tariff barriers, including demonstrating compliance with technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures, remain a significant obstacle to trade and could be particularly daunting for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). International standards have been recognized as an effective way to reduce technical barriers to trade (TBT). This research examines the impact of Canada's participation in international standards development (measured by technical committee/subcommittee participation) on SMEs' likelihood to export. Drawing on a national SME survey, results of the analysis showed that, after controlling for potentially confounding firm and owner attributes, Canada's participation in international standards development has a positive impact on Canada's exports and is associated with engaging more SMEs in international trade.
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Literature Review

Standardization can help organizations optimize internal processes, improve operational efficiency, and reduce transaction costs, thus enabling them to become more competitive and profitable (Gerundino et al., 2014). They also provide an effective means of spreading and applying technical knowledge to a broad group of institutions, which, in turn, creates benefits for the wider economy by improving efficiency, interoperability, and productivity, thereby ensuring sustainable economic growth in the long run (Blind et al., 2022; Grimsby, 2018).

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