The creation of standards: The work of an international standardization organization

This paper gives an account of the organization and work procedures of the open mobile alliance (OMA), a standardization consortium. Consortia are often established as a reaction to perceived inefficiency in the work procedure and organizations of formal standardization organizations in a field. The paper shows that in spite of this, OMA has adopted the work procedures and organizational setup of their counterparts. OMA works on a consensus basis even if the formal rule of the organization is majority voting. The paper argues that this is due to the legacy of the organization and its members, and that the overall structure and spirit of the telecommunication field have a decisive impact on how new organizations work. The paper also argues that the whish for legitimacy steers the organisation towards its current structure, and alternative organizational forms that are less open and inclusive could create IPR licensing problems, and reduce the perceived legitimacy of the OMA standards.

[1]  E. Romanelli,et al.  The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis , 1992 .

[2]  Reijo Miettinen,et al.  Standardisation in the construction of a large technological system—the case of the Nordic mobile telephone system , 2002 .

[3]  Richard Tee,et al.  Standards dynamics and industrial organization in the mobile telecom sector , 2006 .

[4]  M. Sirbu,et al.  Standards setting for computer communication: The case of X.25 , 2014, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[5]  Shane Greenstein,et al.  The Economics of Compatibility of Standards , 1990 .

[6]  Knut Blind,et al.  Trends in ICT standards in European standardisation bodies and standards consortia , 2005, The 4th Conference on Standardization and Innovation in Information Technology, 2005..

[7]  Victor R. Prybutok,et al.  How the mobile communication markets differ in China, the U.S., and Europe , 2005, CACM.

[8]  Joseph Farrell,et al.  Coordination Through Committees and Markets , 1987 .

[9]  Vladislav Fomin,et al.  Standardization: bridging the gap between economic and social theory , 2000, ICIS.

[10]  John W. Creswell,et al.  Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches , 2010 .

[11]  T. Haug,et al.  A commentary on standardization practices: lessons from the NMT and GSM mobile telephone standards histories , 2002 .

[12]  Magnus Boström,et al.  Regulatory Credibility and Authority through Inclusiveness: Standardization Organizations in Cases of Eco-Labelling , 2006 .

[13]  Martin B. H. Weiss,et al.  Free-ridership in the standards-setting process: the case of 10BaseT , 1996, STAN.

[14]  Susanne K. Schmidt,et al.  Coordinating Technology: Studies in the International Standardization of Telecommunications , 1997 .

[15]  Paul A. David,et al.  Formal standards-setting for global telecommunications and information services. Towards an institutional regime transformation? , 1996 .

[16]  Victor Stango.  The Economics of Standards Wars , 2004 .

[17]  Rudi Bekkers,et al.  Intellectual Property Rights and Standardization: The Case of GSM , 2002 .

[18]  Kalle Lyytinen,et al.  The 3G transition: Changes in the US wireless industry , 2006 .

[19]  Walter Mattli,et al.  The politics and economics of international institutional standards setting: an introduction , 2001 .

[20]  D.J. Goodman,et al.  3G cellular standards and patents , 2005, 2005 International Conference on Wireless Networks, Communications and Mobile Computing.

[21]  Erik Bohlin,et al.  Japan's Mobile Internet Success Story - Facts, Myths, Lessons and Implications , 2004 .

[22]  J. Rochet,et al.  Two-sided markets: a progress report , 2006 .

[23]  C. Cargill.  Information technology standardization: Theory, process, and organizations , 1989 .

[24]  D. Silverman.  Interpreting Qualitative Data , 1993 .

[25]  Rob Procter,et al.  The making of standards: looking inside the work groups , 2001, IEEE Commun. Mag..

[26]  P. David,et al.  The Economics Of Compatibility Standards: An Introduction To Recent Research 1 , 1990 .

[27]  Philipp Genschel.  How Fragmentation Can Improve Co-ordination: Setting Standards in International Telecommunications , 1997 .

[28]  Martin Weiss,et al.  Consortia in the Standards Development Process , 1992, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[29]  Thomas Keil,et al.  De-facto standardization through alliances - lessons from Bluetooth , 2002 .

[30]  R. Hawkins,et al.  The rise of consortia in the information and communication technology industries: emerging implications for policy , 1999 .

[31]  Jeffrey L. Funk,et al.  Market- and committee-based mechanisms in the creation and diffusion of global industry standards: the case of mobile communication , 2001 .

[32]  Dan Steinbock.  The Mobile Revolution: The Making of Mobile Services Worldwide , 2005 .