The Creation and Diffusion of Global Industry Standards: The Case of Mobile Operating Systems

Fabrice Coulon, Division of Innovation. Lund Institute of Technology

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 1/5/2004)

Due to the growing number of products and the need for interconnection between them, compatibility standardization in ICT has gained considerable importance during the last decade, creating network externalities for the users and increasing returns for the producers. Standards can be created by market or committee-based mechanisms but also by a combination of both types. One goal of a standard in high-technology markets can be to decrease the uncertainty faced by users and producers. For example, in mobile operating systems, Symbian is an alliance of firms, which have common interest in the success of this operating system. This research aims to shed light on the processes involved in the creation and diffusion of a standard in mobile operating systems in the telecommunication sector. In other words, what are the mechanisms to create and diffuse a standard in the case of mobile operating systems? Why are these mechanisms used and with what implications? The study will survey several actors involved in mobile operating systems standardisation with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The theories of the product lifecycle (dominant product design) and technological paradigm are to be used.