%0 Journal Article %1 shapiro1999standards %A Shapiro, Carl %A Varian, Hal R. %D 1999 %I SAGE Publications %J California Management Review %K lobbying standards %N 2 %P 8--32 %R 10.2307/41165984 %T The Art of Standards Wars %U https://doi.org/10.2307%2F41165984 %V 41 %X Competition in the information age often takes the form of a standards war: a battle for market dominance between incompatible technologies. A company's success or failure can easily hinge on its ability to wage such a standards war. Standards wars are especially bitter in markets with strong network effects, where consumers place great value on compatibility and interconnection with each other. These markets tend to exhibit positive feedback and "tip" to a single winner. Based on a study of dozens of standards wars going back over 100 years, a "battle guide" for waging a standards war is presented. After standards wars are classified and 7 key assets that firms can use to successfully establish a new technology are identified, 3 tactics in standards battles are recommended: 1. building alliances, 2. exploiting first-mover advantages, and 3. managing consumer expectations.

@article{shapiro1999standards, abstract = {Competition in the information age often takes the form of a standards war: a battle for market dominance between incompatible technologies. A company's success or failure can easily hinge on its ability to wage such a standards war. Standards wars are especially bitter in markets with strong network effects, where consumers place great value on compatibility and interconnection with each other. These markets tend to exhibit positive feedback and "tip" to a single winner. Based on a study of dozens of standards wars going back over 100 years, a "battle guide" for waging a standards war is presented. After standards wars are classified and 7 key assets that firms can use to successfully establish a new technology are identified, 3 tactics in standards battles are recommended: 1. building alliances, 2. exploiting first-mover advantages, and 3. managing consumer expectations.}, added-at = {2022-02-15T16:01:13.000+0100}, author = {Shapiro, Carl and Varian, Hal R.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/20cf105132fb0bd11a1f922beb1f44f5b/meneteqel}, doi = {10.2307/41165984}, interhash = {1fdd94b73b0d22428a4f5a99f0d0013c}, intrahash = {0cf105132fb0bd11a1f922beb1f44f5b}, journal = {California Management Review}, keywords = {lobbying standards}, language = {en-US}, month = jan, number = 2, pages = {8--32}, publisher = {{SAGE} Publications}, timestamp = {2022-02-15T17:35:54.000+0100}, title = {The Art of Standards Wars}, url = {https://doi.org/10.2307%2F41165984}, volume = 41, year = 1999 }