The Impact of Standardization Intensity on Sales Performance: Evidence from Korean SMEs

The choice of SMEs between standardization and R&D is one of the strategies of building capabilities for achieving competitive advantages under the liabilities of newness and smallness. This paper provides empirical evidence of Korean SMEs choice between standardization and R&D. We hypothesize two possible impacts of standardization intensity on sales performance; a positive linear and a U-shaped relationship. The analysis of data on 821 Korean SMEs from information and technology, and electricity and electronics industries in 2013 shows an U-shaped relationship between relative standardization intensity over R&D and sales performance.