Shaping Standardisation: A study of standards processes and standards policies in the field of telematic services

Tineke M Egyedi, Department of ICT, Delft University of Technology

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

Knowledge about standardization is fragmented, and mostly narrowly economic in nature. Few efforts have been made to integrate findings. In this thesis I develop a comprehensive view on the way standards, standards processes and standardization policies are shaped. It is an exploratory study. My aim is, besides developing an encompassing view on standardization, to provide insight and tools for consistent standards policy and to further understanding of the relationship between standardization and technology development.The field of standardization on which I focus is that of telematic services. The case of telematic services promises to supply insights which are generalizable to other areas of converging technologies and infrastructural systems. The first chapter introduces the field of standardization and positions it as a setting of technology development. Basic terms are defined. In a historical outline I stress that, depending on the sector and period in question, standardization takes on a different meaning. Following, I review literature on standardization. The studies predominantly express an economic and interest-driven vantage point. Little research exists about the relationship between standardization and technology development. Issues of technological maturity and stages in standardization complicate clear statements on the relationship. I advance two propositions. Firstly, standardization is an endogenous factor in technology development. Secondly, the field of standardization is best characterized in terms of group processes. The social constructivist approach seems especially suited to study such processes. The approach addresses the way groups shape material and immaterial artefacts. The initial research question is, Which social factors primarily shape standardization and in what manner do they do so? Here, standardization refers to three features: the standard, the standards process and the political meaning of standardization. 'social factor' refers to groups of various kind and their primary attributes. The question is further specified in chapter 3. [note: Main text is in English]