Influence of knowledge and quality on business performance of companies in Serbia

Abstract

© 2017, Strojarski Facultet. All rights reserved. The paper presents results of research on the impact of knowledge and quality on business performance of companies. Data was collected by interviewing 296 managers from 140 companies in Serbia. Knowledge and quality showed a strong and positive impact on the business performance of companies in Serbia. Variables “Group knowledge” and “Systematic approach to quality” proved to have the greatest impact on variables “Employee performance” and “Development performance”. Work experience as a moderator has shown to have a significant effect on relations between dimensions of knowledge and quality and dimensions of business performance. Factor analysis has shown two-component solution, where the first component gathers variables of knowledge and quality, and the second one variable of business performance, and a strong correlation was established between these two components. This study confirmed the importance of knowledge and quality in business improvement and competitiveness, where the focus is placed on the workers, with their knowledge, experience and readiness to adapt to changes in the business.