DEFENDING THE SPIRIT OF THE WEB: CONFLICTS IN THE INTERNET STANDARDS PROCESS

The creation and adoption of standards is often modeled as a game between large corporate players. Alternatively, the standards process can be modeled as the actions of a set of actors in a network. A third perspective is also possible – standards can be seen as the outgrowth of the technical ideas of the participants and the technical community they consider themselves part of. This work focuses on applying all three perspectives on the development of web services choreography standards. A model is developed, and the three methods are applied. All three are shown to be intertwined, in the sense that ideas from one method can feed another. Evidence is presented which suggests that the technical culture of the participants is a strong driver of standards development – and of migration between standards groups. The role of standards bodies are analyzed – given the fast movement of technical architects between companies and standards groups, the bylaws of the groups themselves may be important in encouraging or frustrating the creation of successful standards.