Countervailing Forces and Effects of Process Standardization

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

Process standardization is defining a new era of business process revolution across many industries and contexts in electronic commerce in which the impetus for cooperation is greater than the drivers of competition. As industries consolidate and competition rises, firms are increasingly pursuing process standardization to further enhance process management and reap the benefits of standards. The current literature explores and analyzes standards and standardization at the IT, firm, and industry levels. The complex nature of process standardization requires a reorientation of the existing approaches to analysis to understand the countervailing forces and effects. This article introduces a robust framework that captures the dynamics of process standardization across four levels of analysis: IT innovation, firm, industry, and economy. It also presents the cascading effects that occur as we traverse through the different levels. We use this framework to draw conclusions for appropriate directions in research that will enable greater theoretical and managerial understanding of the related issues.

Keywords

Economic analysis, Process standardization, Robust framework, Standards diffusion, Standard-setting organizations, Technology innovation, Vertical IS standards

Discipline

Computer Sciences | E-Commerce | Operations and Supply Chain Management

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Publication

Electronic Commerce Research and Applications

Volume

9

Issue

4

First Page

305

Last Page

322

ISSN

1567-4223

Identifier

10.1016/j.elerap.2009.11.009

Publisher

Elsevier

Additional URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2009.11.009

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