Exploration of the Concept of Standardization: a Literature Overview
Exploration of the Concept of Standardization: a Literature Overview
Purpose – The paper aims to study the concept of standardization and its key purposes for solving problems of different groups of stakeholders and discovers the importance of developing common terminology in standardization.
Design/methodology/approach – By conducting a literature overview of research articles and other sources of literature, the authors analyze the concept of standardization. Through the analysis, scoping review is applied to identify the key purposes of the concept. Following, qualitative content analysis is carried out, within the framework of which the categories of elements characterizing the importance of developing common terminology in standardization are identified.
Findings – The concept of standardization covers activities to ensure an optimal level of orderliness, quality, safety, compatibility, and compliance with certain requirements, thus serving a different purpose for various groups of stakeholders while also contributing to solving modern day problems such as sustainability, environmental protection, digitalization, and industrial development. The concept of standardization envisages a unified approach for the creation and transfer of information and knowledge, thus the development of common terminology in the areas covered by standardization plays an important role to ensure common understanding among interested parties. The role of standardization for different stakeholder groups and its coverage in research reveals that it not only has practical purposes, for example in quality management, but is a topic that can be expanded by focusing on the theoretical aspects of the concept in academia as well.
Originality/value – Through the analysis, the authors describe what the concept of standardization means today for different groups of stakeholders in face of industrial development and global societal expectations. The elements that describe the importance of developing common terminology in standardization are also identified through the research. In addition, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the level the topic of standardization has been covered in scientific research, illustrates the areas where standardization has increased its role as a research subject and identifies the possible gaps and opportunities for further research.
Common terminology, Standardization, Standards, Terminology
