Doc. Ing. Marta Orviska, PhD.

1. EURAS(European Academy for Standardisation) & STANDARDS10th MARS Group meeting12-14 September 2012 Doc. Ing. Marta Orviska, PhD. Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia Email: marta.orviska@umb.sk

2. Content • EURAS • Research and standardisation • Conclusion

3. EURAS, the European Academy for Standardisation e.V : • Was founded in Hamburg in 1993 by researchers from various academic fields (i.e. economics, engineering, social sciences, law, and information sciences); • It is a registered society under German civil law, and a non-profit organization; • The foundation of EURAS was prompted by a common desire to promote and achieve progress in the academic treatment of standardisation, involving the widest possible range of disciplines; • There are members from all over Europe, North and South America, Australia, China, Korea, Japan, etc.

4. EURAS' objective is to promote research, education and publication in the field of standardisation • The focus is on: • a critical evaluation of, and interest in, scientific education, • improving opportunities to publish research results, • promoting standardisation research, • supporting the development and professionalization of standards education.

5. EURAS offers a platform for exchanging information, collaboration and dissemination. It does so by organisingannual EURAS conferences, publishing the conference proceedings, the EURAS Yearbook and other publications. • The conference draw: - academic researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds, - representatives from national and regional standards bodies, - representatives from government agencies and company representatives, who share an interest in standardisation. • Conference presentations can address any aspect and field of standardisation

6. The EURAS Conference • 17th EURAS Annual Standardisation Conference • – Standards and Innovation • 18 – 20 June 2012 • Košice, Slovakia • Organised by the Faculty of Economics at MatejBel University in BanskaBystrica (UMB) • the Faculty of Economics at the Technical University of Košice (TUKE). • There is a mix of academics, people from industry and the national, EU and international standards boards. • The papers are a mix across disciplines.

7. The Mix is a good one • The non-academics bring experience of practice, from different perspectives of industry and the standards organisations. • The academic is more removed from the process, more able to take a detached and holistic view of an issue. • Academics, particularly economists, also bring a variety of sophisticated research tools to analyse data, and a theoretical basis and knowledge of the literature.

8. EURAS • is governed by a small Board who effectively decide what to do. Within this there are separate responsibility. • Initiatives for collaboration range from European projects on education (e.g. Asia-Link) and research, to writing articles which would otherwise have not been written.

9. EURAS emphasizes the need for increased European co-operation, it is internationally oriented and welcomes the participation from and collaboration with colleagues from other regions. • In the last months the key focus has been on the Educational White Paper.

10. WHITE PAPER: ACADEMIC STANDARDISATION EDUCATION IN EUROPEhttp://www.euras.org/uploads/files/EURAS%20White%20paper%202011-08-13.pdf • This was basically written by Wilfried Hesserand Dr. Ir. Henk J. de Vries. • The White Paper argues that Standardisation is a strategic asset at the level of companies, industry sectors, countries and regions, but that to take full advantage of standardisation proper education is needed.

11. Several Asian countries are increasingly implementing standardisation education programmes and that Europe is lagging behind: - the governments of the member countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have decided to implement standardisation education in their countries 2006 – 2010; - such a decision has not yet been taken at the European level; - it is the official policy of the EC and EuropeanParliament to promote the European standardisation system, - current practice shows no more than fragmented standardisation education activities in the EU and hardly any programmes at the academic level.

12. Thus the White Paper calls for: • A European Standardisation Education Agency • This agency needs a steering group at the European level • At the national level there should be parallel structures.

13. EURAS is pushing for this by lobbying the European Standards Organisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) and by organising workshops. http://www.euras.org/uploads/files/Invitation20120629.pdf

14. Event on Education about Standardisation: - in June 2012 CEN and CENELEC, with EURAS involvement, organised a workshop in Brussels to open a dialogue with academia and industry on the Strategic importance of educating and training students and workers on standardisation. • This follows on from the establishment of a by the three European Standards Organisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI). CEN/CENELEC website goes on to say: The European Commission is yet another European institution that has recently showed its concern about increasing awareness about standardization. • In its Communication on a Strategic vision for European Standards, (2011) the European Commission asked the European Standards Organisations, the Member States and other standardization bodies to improve awareness and education about standardization. Public knowledge about standardization should be increased by means of training, awareness-raising activities and targeted workshops.

15. EURAS is co-operating with the ITU(International Telecommunications Union) in their 'Kaleidoscope' series of conferences. • The 5th conference on "Building Sustainable Communities" will be held on the 22-24 April 2013 at Kyoto, Japan • http://www.itu.int/ITU- T/uni/kaleidoscope/2013/ (where EURAS is listed as a supporter)

16. Joint ITU-GISFI-DS-CTIF • Standards Education Workshop, • October 8-9, 2012, • Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark. • 9th International Conference • Standardization,Protypes And Quality: A Means OfBalkan Countries' Collaboration • October 5-6, 2012 • Tirana.

17. Summary • EURAS has been a success with the annual conference, campaigning for educational research in the EU and its links with other organisations - providing a platform for people to communicate with each other it is also important, particularly bringing people from academia, industry and the standards organisations talking. • It has it has recently started publishing its own books. • The web site too has recently improved after several years

18. Research – examples • Focused on the take up of international standards by firms - this has resulted in a paper already published based on the countries in Central, Eastern Europe parts of Asia and a second currently submitted which looks at all countries in the world. • There are differences

19. An Analysis of Firms’ Adoption of International Standards: One Size Fits All? • We analyse the take-up by firms of internationally recognizedstandards such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. • Based on an analysis of11,668 firms in countries in Asia and Eastern Europe, we conclude thatthe probability of standard certification increases with firm size, isgreatest in large cities and in manufacturing industries. • There areother differences, including between countries. • Given thesedifferences, we argue that single generic standards for all firms maynot be optimal and that there is a case for the simultaneouspublication of differentiated standards targeted at different usercharacteristics. Firms’ adoption of international standards: One size fits all? Journal of Policy Modeling. Available online 16 April 2012, forthcoming in hard copy.

20. Reasons for standards adoption: “Bowing” to institutional expectations. (Beck and Walgenbach, 2005). Managers want to be seen as modern and up to date. Economic view – based on the rationality standards adoption will increase the profits.

21. Differences in standard certification between countries

22. The Adoption of International Standards in Developing Countries • We analyse the take-up by firms of internationally recognized standards such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. • Based on an analysis of firms in countries in Africa, central and South America and Asia, we conclude that the probability of standard certification increases with firm size and is linked with the firm being involved in exporting. • There are also differences in the level of take-up between firms in services and manufacturing. • The Internet has also played a critical part in stimulating standard certification. • Importantly too our analysis suggests standards stimulate export activity and are not just a characteristic of exporting firms. Paper presented at EURAS conference in Kosice, 2012

23. Standardisation is positively linked with: firms who use electronic communication to communicate with clients. firms export focus (linked by an inverse U shaped function, peak usage by firms with some, but not total, export focus). age of the firm in both Africa and the Americas, but not significantly in Asia (where there is a smaller sample). size of firm and is also greater for group and foreign firms and for publicly listed firms. There is no strong linkage to: whether an urban or rural location.

24. Regional aspect Countries in Africa respond to both good quality courts and, negatively, to a poor quality transport system. In the Americas access to finance, in the form of bank credit is important. Regional electronic communication is very significant in both the Americas and Africa.

25. Standardization impact on firm’s export orientation - regression results Standardisation appears clearly to stimulate export activity.

26. Standardization and the European Standards Organisations [ESOs] • Standardisation is a relatively neglected aspect of the EU regulatory process and yet it is fundamental to that process and arguably in recent years has been the key vehicle in making the single market an economic reality. • Yet the key standardization bodies in the EU, the ESOs, are scarcely known to the public and are seldom discussed in the literature. In this article we redress this imbalance, in the process arguing that standardization and integration are closely related concepts. Paper presented at EURAS conference in Kosice, 2012 and ECPR conference, Reykjavik, 2011.

27. We examine the evolving relationship between the • ESOs the EU and the national standards bodies. • We also argue that standardization and the growth of • the ESOs has both facilitated and contributed to EUintegration. • Are speeding up and opening up the process ofstandardization • compatible aims? • Paper presented at EURAS conference in Kosice, 2012 and ECPR • conference, Reykjavik, 2011.

28. Standards: - harmonizing the European environment, - facilitate the development of a European identity andintegration. But work of the ESOs has gone far beyond this: - Many of the administrative costs and restrictions imposed on business stem from EU standardization. - Many of the factors which determine consumer’s rights stem from standardization. - Many of the factors which determine an individual’s quality of life are impacted upon by standards. - EU standards decliningthe role of the nation state is.

29. Questions to be discussed • What role youthinktheinformalbodieslike EURAS should play in theprocessofstandardisation to meet‘thegoals’ , and if so what goals? • Whatisthe role oftheuniversities and academics and whereyoucouldseethestrength and theweaknessesofthecooperation in theprocessofeducation in the area ofstandardisation in theframeworkofthe EU, and fromtheglobalperspective? • Wouldthe establishment oftheconsortiumofexpertsrepresentingthevariousareasofthestandardisation‘to force’ or encouragethecooperation and to work on theexpectedimpactofstandardisationbe helpful?For example, preparingprojectsora programmewhichwouldreflectthecomplexityof such issues…?

30. Thank you for your attention.