Factors for building a competitive advantage of analytical laboratories on the market

Purpose: The reason for writing the paper was radical changes in the organisation of the work in laboratories after the transformation of the economic system in 1989. Since this year, a market economy in Poland has been built. The authors present key changes in laboratories after transformation of the system in Poland. The key areas of change are building relationships between a laboratory and an accreditation organisation and customer. The purpose of the paper is to present key areas of changes in the laboratory market. The research methods included an analysis of literature and the standards concerning quality management in research laboratories and accreditation of laboratories. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents factors for building the competitive advantage of research laboratories in a market economy. The authors presents information about changes based on their experiences and observation of the laboratory market. Findings: The result of the collected information is a segmental analysis of changes in laboratories. Research limitations/implications: The implemented changes in research laboratories are a basis for further development. There are several types of laboratories which take on different forms depending on the characteristics of their testing. The work adopted the concept of describing the general conditions of the functioning of laboratories on the market without delving into the specifics of the laboratory (no division of laboratories into different types: medical, physical, measuring, industrial, etc.). The article characterises market conditions for a laboratory understood as a room with equipment in which the research is carried out by the staff – a research laboratory. Research laboratories until 1989 operated in the structures of state-owned enterprises or in the structures of large organisations (hospitals, universities, institutes). The implemented changes have created new customer-oriented laboratories. Originality/value: The information presented in the article broadens the knowledge about the transformation of laboratories in Poland.