Abstract
The paper presents the results of research of the combination of knowledge in the system: suppliers - SMEs - consumers in case of SMEs in Eastern Serbia. A theoretical model of a combination of knowledge was established in the investigated system. By using the statistical analysis of the results a satisfactory statistical significance of acquired results was determined, which allowed the testing of the defined model using LISREL software package. The results show the importance of the established hypotheses for the impact of the cooperation with suppliers on a combination of knowledge, as well as the combination of knowledge of customers and suppliers on the creation of the new knowledge in SMEs. The hypothesis about the positive influence of the sharing of knowledge with customers on the combination of the knowledge in SMEs has not been proven. These facts suggest that SMEs in Serbia do not collaborate with their customers. The cause of such a situation is the lack of system quality (SQ) in the SME sector in Serbia, as well as not applying the principles of TQM practices, which provides the best explanation of the short life cycle of SMEs in Serbia and the inability of their internationalization.
Highlights
The concept of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is developed in the U.S, and has recently been experiencing an expansion in Europe [01].The development of SMEs in Europe is slower because of the barriers in the process of starting a new business and the fear of failure [02, 17]
Bearing in mind the proposed hypothetical model of knowledge creation by combining knowledge in the system suppliers - SME - customers in SMEs in the transition economy in Serbia, Figure 1., and obtained results in Figure 2., hypothesis H1 and H2 were confirmed while the hypothesis H3 is not confirmed
It was confirmed that knowledge has a positive effect on the combination of entrepreneurial skills of a company, as well as on developing the dependence on supplier knowledge networks which have a
Summary
The concept of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is developed in the U.S, and has recently been experiencing an expansion in Europe [01].The development of SMEs in Europe is slower because of the barriers in the process of starting a new business and the fear of failure [02, 17]. Within the concept of entrepreneurial activities, innovative behavior is caused by a combination of knowledge which can be created within the concept of knowledge networks of SMEs with their customers and suppliers [23], which in many cases can lead to the creation of the new knowledge [22] In terms of globalization of the market, many SMEs become more international [28, 17] and the terms of the concept of creating a network of development produce good results, leading to the emergence of entrepreneurial firms with high technological performance as a consequence of the accumulation of knowledge in the process of combining knowledge [26]. Based on the defined hypothesis it is possible to define a theoretical model of a combination of knowledge in the system suppliers-SME-customers to increase the knowledge, in order to increase the performance of SMEs, Figure 1
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