INSTITUTIONALISATION OF E-BUSINESS STANDARDS

Dr. Ian Graham, School of Management, University of Edinburgh, Dr. Neil Pollock, School of Management, University of Edinburgh, Dr. Alison Smart, Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, and Prof. Robin Williams, Research Centre for Social Sciences, University of Edinburgh

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 2000)

This paper addresses the formation of standards in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. The contrast between the developing of generic standards and sector specific standards is considered and the argument that users will commit to developing sectoral standards while IT vendors will direct their resources to generic standards is restated. Specifically, the emergence of the OASIS committee developing a Universal Business Language is considered. The claim that the OASIS process is open and that all interested actors can contribute is described and considered critically in relation to the dominance of US based IT system suppliers in the process.