Innovation, Standardization, and Developing Coiuntries: A Reflection on Literature

Recently, a growing body of literature recognizes the positive interplay between innovation and standardization. This paper reviews 63 articles extracted from the Web of Science database covering the innovation-standardization nexus in the context of developing countries, and discusses whether and how the relationship between innovation and standardization provides implications for the socioeconomic development in developing countries. In terms of the goals to which innovation and standards/standardization aim to contribute in developing countries, the analysis reveals a chasm between economic growth and social development, which in part constitutes the largely mixed understanding on the nature, role and impact of innovation and standardization. Under the global trade regime, the unilateral transfer of innovation and the aim of standardization are increasingly conceived as a form of “pressure” to the developing countries through which only limited gains are expected. In reaction to this stream of research, a growing body of literature explores innovation that is indigenous to developing countries, and how standardization as a strategic choice for both governments and firms helps induce or scale up the sociotechnical innovation. This review provides a map of key research issues in this growing, interdisciplinary field, which is relevant for academia as well as practice.