Attributes and Dynamic Development Phases of ICT Standards Consortia

Pohlmann, Tim (2010): Attributes and Dynamic Development Phases of ICT Standards Consortia.

Abstract

Standards consortia are private industry alliances that serve a certain purpose and gather likeminded companies that share the same interest to sponsor and develop technologies for standardization. Compared to formal standard setting, participation in consortia is less bureaucratic, more efficient in reacting to market needs and allows, in respect to the tiered membership structures, a strategic influence of standard setting outcomes. Formal standardization is in contrast an often protracted process of development and negotiation. This paper tries to provide a broad and comprehensive picture of standards consortia and their dynamic development in the past ten years. Analyses show that consortia have distinct characteristics which help to explain and justify their presence in the standard setting context. The observation of consortia existence over time identifies relationships between the formation, termination and merger of consortia with respect to market and technology development. Furthermore the paper seeks to measure consortia performance with respect to organizational structures and market position. Therefore we test the likelihood of consortia termination. Results of a survival analysis reveal that the probability of consortia success is especially connected to structures that determine coordination among members. Additionally the scope and focus on technology and markets also influences if consortia remain in business over time.

influence from participating firms. These main insights justify a distinct research on the role of informal standard setting in the ICT industry.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Standard Setting, Standards Consortia, ICT Industry, IP Policy, Technological Development
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L16 - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics: Industrial Structure and Structural Change ; Industrial Price Indices; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L15 - Information and Product Quality ; Standardization and Compatibility

References

Anderson, P. (2008). Evaluation of Ten Standard Setting Organizations with Regard to Open Standards, Prepared for I T - o g Telestyrelsen, IDC Special Study.

Axelrod, R., S. Bennett, E. Bruderer, W. Mitchell, R. Thomas. 1995. Coalition formation in standard-setting alliances. Management Sci. 41(9) 1493–1508.

Baron, J., Ménière Y., Pohlmann, T. (2011) "R&D Coordination for Standardization: the Role of Consortia", Cerna Working Paper.

Blind, K.; Gauch, S. (2008).Trends in ICT standards in European standardization bodies and standards consortia. Telecommunication Policy, 32, 503–513.

Blind, K.; Gauch, S.; Hawkins, R. (2010): How stakeholders view the impacts of international ICT standards, Telecommunications Policy, 34, No.3, 162-174.

Bunduchi, R.; Graham, I.; Smart, A.; Williams, R. (2008). Homogeneity and heterogeneity in information technology private standard settings – the institutional account, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management Vol. 20, No. 4, July 2008, 389–407.

Cargill, C.; Weiss, M. (1992). Consortia in the Standards Development Process, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Volume 43 Issue 8, 559 – 565.

Cargill, C. (2002). Intellectual Property Rights and Standards Setting Organizations: An Overview of failed evolution, A Report Issued By the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, March 2002.

CEN/ISSS (2009). CEN/ISSS survey of standards-related fora and consortia, 15th edition, Brussels, October 2009.

Coulon, F. (2004). Proprietary standardisation in consortia –the case of the Symbian alliance, Research Design 9th EURAS Workshop on Standardisation, May 13-14th, 2004.

David, P. A., Greenstein, S., 1990. The economics of compatibility standards: An introduction to recent research. Economics of Innovation and New Technology 1, 3-42.

David, P. A. (1996). Formal standard-setting for global telecommunications and information services. Telecommunications Policy, 20, 789–815.

Delcamp, H., Leiponen, A., 2012. Innovating Standards Through Informal Consortia: The Case of Wireless Telecommunications. NBERWorking Paper Series.

Egyedi, T.M. (2001), Beyond Consortia, Beyond Standardisation? New Case Material and Policy Threads. Final Report for the European Commission. Delft. The Netherlands.

Farrell, Joseph; Hayes, John; Shapiro, Carl; Sullivan, Theresa (2007): Standard Setting, Patents, and Hold-Up; 74 Antitrust L.J. 603.

Farrell J., Simcoe, T., 2012. Choosing the Rules for Consensus Standardization. Unpublished manuscript. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1396330.

Grotnes, E. (2009). Standardization as open innovation: two cases from the mobile industry, Information Technology & People, Volume 22, Number 4, 367-381.

Hawkins, R. (1999). The rise of consortia in the information and communication industries: emerging implications for policy. Telecommunication Policy, 23, 159–173.

Jakobs, K. (2003). Information Technology Standards, Standards Setting and Standards Research. Presented at: Stanhope Centers Roundtable on systematic barriers to the inclusion of a public interest voice in the design of ICT, Cotswolds Conference, December 2003.

Jakobs, K. (2004). ICT Standards Development — Finding the Best Platform, Enterprise Interoperability, Springer London, 543-552.

Kindleberger, C. P. (1983). Standards as public, collective, and private goods. Kyklos, 36, 377-397.

Koenig, R. (2008). New ways of standard-setting in technology-driven industries: the case of automotive electronics in Japan and Germany, DRUID-DIME Academy Winter 2008 PhD Conference.

Layne-Farrar, Anne; Padilla, A. Jorge; Schmalensee, Richard (2007): Pricing Patents for Licensing in Standard-Setting Organizations: Making Sense of Fraud Commitments; 74 Antitrust Law Journal 671.

Leiponen, A., .2008. Competing Through Cooperation: The Organization of Standard Setting in Wireless Telecommunications. Management Science 54-11,1904-1919.

McGuire, M.. 1972. Private Good Clubs and Public Good Clubs: Economic Models of Group Formation. The Swedish Journal of Economics. Vol. 74, No. 1, Economics of Location: Theory and Policy Aspects, pp. 84-99.

Olson, M. (1971). The logic of collective action: Public goods and the theory of groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Updegrove, A. (1995). Consortia and the Role of the Government in Standard Setting, in B. Kahin & J. Abbate (Eds.). Standards Policy for Information Infrastructure, Cambridge: MIT Press, 321-348.

Updegrove, A. (2008). The Essential Guide to Standards, Handbook of Consortium Info in: [http://www.consortiuminfo.org].