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Industry consortia in mobile telecommunications standards setting: Purpose, organization and diversity

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  • Teubner, Lisa K.
  • Henkel, Joachim
  • Bekkers, Rudi

Abstract

In mobile telecommunications, numerous formal and quasi-formal standard setting organizations (SSOs) exist that are dedicated to technology standardization. Yet, hundreds of more or less informal industry consortia have been established that also deal with technical standards. Some of these aim to develop standards themselves – and thus compete with existing, formal standard setting organizations – while others complement existing organizations or relate to them in other ways. Based on a novel dataset covering 100 consortia in the field of mobile telecommunications as well as interviews, we aim to explore and understand the role and diversity of standards-related consortia. We investigate their purpose, functioning, their members’ motives, the position they occupy in the standardization landscape, and the way they interact with formal standard setting. On the basis of our analysis, we propose a taxonomy of standards-related consortia consisting of six groups: large industry and technology influencers, high-level concept developers, established standards developers, young technology specialists, small industry and technology influencers, and SSO-hosted industry drivers. We believe the resulting taxonomy to be relevant for researchers, practitioners and policymakers alike. It sheds light on the intricate landscape of industry consortia, and offers transparency on the peculiarities of these organizations. Hence, it can build the basis for an evaluation of potential memberships as well as policies and regulations.

Suggested Citation

  • Teubner, Lisa K. & Henkel, Joachim & Bekkers, Rudi, 2021. "Industry consortia in mobile telecommunications standards setting: Purpose, organization and diversity," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:45:y:2021:i:3:s0308596120301506
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2020.102059
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhao, Qifeng & Luo, Qianfeng & Tao, Yunqing, 2023. "From chaos to compliance: Standards-setting and financial fraud," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    3. Wiegmann, Paul Moritz & Eggers, Felix & de Vries, Henk J. & Blind, Knut, 2022. "Competing Standard-Setting Organizations: A Choice Experiment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    4. Mendonça, Sandro & Damásio, Bruno & Charlita de Freitas, Luciano & Oliveira, Luís & Cichy, Marcin & Nicita, António, 2022. "The rise of 5G technologies and systems: A quantitative analysis of knowledge production," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    5. Heikkilä, Jussi & Rissanen, Julius & Ali-Vehmas, Timo, 2023. "Coopetition, standardization and general purpose technologies: A framework and an application," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    6. da Ponte, Aureliano & Leon, Gonzalo & Alvarez, Isabel, 2023. "Technological sovereignty of the EU in advanced 5G mobile communications: An empirical approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mobile telecommunications; Standardization; Strategic alliances; Consortia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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