Social shaping & standardization: a case study from auto industry

Martina Gerst, University of Edinburgh, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Raluca Bunduchi, University of Edinburgh, Research Centre for Social Sciences, and Robin Williams, University of Edinburgh, Research Centre for Social Sciences

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

Inter-organizational collaboration requires systems interoperability which is not possible in the absence of common standards. However, empirical research has shown that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards can be a major barrier in the progress of Information Technology (IT)-enabled inter-organizational collaboration [1-3]. Though often portrayed as a narrow technical matter, standard setting is a complex social process, shaped by an array of factors and representing embodiments of social relationships between the actors. This paper approaches standardization from a Social Shaping of Technology (SST) perspective. The paper explores the characteristics and factors that shape the development and implementation of a standard in the case of a portal implementation in the automotive industry.