Choosing the Right Strategy - Considerations in Allocating Resources in Standard Setting

Firms participating in standardisation face many different options both related to what type(s) of venue (formal standard setting organisations or consortia) and which specific venue within these categories to join. As each of these options requires them to commit resources, a fundamental part of developing a standardisation strategy is choosing the venue(s) where employing these resources is most likely to lead to a desirable outcome. In this conceptual paper, we review literature about cooperation and competition, multi-sided platforms, forum shopping, path dependence and social networks to identify considerations that companies should take into account in these decisions according to existing theory. We summarise these considerations by integrating them into one model that relates them to the different stages of a typical standardisation process. Additionally, we outline further research that is needed to guide companies in formulating standardisation strategies.