The Political Context of Information and Communication Technologies Standardization

This chapter presents an analysis of the political, marketing, and technical aspects associated with the perception that standardization is slow. A framework is defined to evaluate the rate of standardization in terms of meeting users’ needs. INTRODUCTION It is widely believed that formal standard bodies are less responsive to market needs than industrial associations or consortia. This belief has had at least two consequences. First, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of ad hoc groups to promote specific technologies. Second, some traditional standards-developing organizations have fallen out of favor and have reduced their activities. Yet the foundation of such a perception has never been fully investigated. While technical specifications provide the basis for the development of products and services, they also reflect the influence of participants and their power to shape events. When similar technologies offer comparable perforIDEA GROUP PUBLISHING This chapter appears in the book, Advanced Topics in Information Technology Standards and Standardization Research, Volume 1 edited by Kai Jakobs © 2006, Idea Group Inc. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITB11918