Assessment of products’ standards in Jordanian manufacturing companies

The increasing impact of international competition and changing business environment has raised the important role of standardization, which was reflected in national standards. This paper presents the results of a study that provides insight into the role of Jordanian product standards in the local industry. The effect of companies’ characteristics on both the importance and satisfaction level with Jordanian Standards (JS), identifying reasons for using foreign standards and the need for new JS in manufacturing sectors were investigated. The findings revealed that there are no statistically significant differences in the way that Jordanian companies perceive the importance of having JS and the level of satisfaction or interest. Regardless of the company characteristics, it is concluded that targeted companies consider JS important to their business and JS are satisfying the companies’ interests. The surveyed Jordanian companies show a serious interest in foreign standards. However, the lack of familiarity with the existing JS in some small and medium enterprises and its benefit to their industry was observed.