Browsing by Subject "Coevolution"

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    Innovation und Standardsetzungskompetenz auf global integrierten Märkten
    (2012) Slowak, André P.; Gerybadze, Alexander
    Within this PhD thesis, we examine the interrelationship between joint innovation projects and standard setting for industry standards. This is a field of innovation research as well as research on the economics of standards that has been sadly neglected up to now. We investigate the core issue regarding what functions of system integration are fulfilled by industry standards for product systems and large systems. We define a product system as a set of components which achieve an essential functionality only in concert, but which the end user can still recognise as individual components. An architectural respective systemic standard dissects a joint technical system of standard setting partners into physical components and works in such a way that those system elements are simultaneously a) mutually compatible, b) mutually independent to as great an extent as possible and c) function in a variety of configurations. The automotive industry and industrial automation resorts to member layer models as a new type of organisation for standard setting partnerships/communities. A large number of members, dovetailing of joint innovation projects and structures aimed at rapid diffusion of standards set this type of organisation apart from conventional industry/standard setting consortia. Excellent standard governance is necessary in order to enable incumbents to establish dominant designs worldwide. We examine the cases of AUTOSAR, GENIVI and PROFIBUS in empirical case studies. In order to explain how standards are organised strategically, we deduce a configuration audit from the existing literature. Among other things, this thesis addresses exclusion from participation in standard setting, exclusion from access to specifications, the ownership of standards, IPR policies, the time reference of specifications with regard to dominant design, and standard setting methods (modular vs. integral). Furthermore, we describe the cultural differences between the German and the Japanese automotive industries in their approaches to project organisation in the pre-competition stage. We observe a geographic exclusion mechanism for the electro-mobility charging interface and/or in the case of CHAdeMO and in the user organisations of industrial automation: innovation activities are conducted in the country of origin. At the same time, R&D driven product competition involving the battery as the core component as well as standard setting competition for the charging interface to the battery is taking place in the emerging market for electric cars. The German OEMs are trying to establish their AC/DC combo charging system primarily through international formal standardisation. The Japanese industry is attempting to establish its DC charging system via the global market by way of the CHAdeMO standard setting partnership. The electro-mobility sector clearly demonstrates how industry is implementing a gradual system expansion starting on the basis of core components in order to offer solutions together with partners and not merely isolated products. We understand system expansion to mean step-by-step expansion of a product system: starting on the basis of core components, through integration of the suppliers of an incumbent (system integrator) into standard development, and also including integration of suppliers of complementary goods & peripheral system components. The integration of the latter means establishing a (large) innovation ecosystem. By contrast, the pigments and paint sector does not make use of any new type of organisation in the pre-competition stage. In that industry, innovation occurs within bilateral co-operation arrangements at the interface between two stages of the value-added chain. According to our accompanying observations, its formal standardisation activities primarily serve to prepare for new regulations, to influence them or to harmonise measurement methods among manufacturers. In our case studies, we observe system dynamics in multiple stages in conjunction with standard setting. We have depicted those dynamics in a system dynamics model. Our modelling is suitable as a starting point for simulation or agent-based approaches to standard setting for product systems. Moreover, future studies should describe additional cases from other business sectors where systemic innovation and standard setting are mutually interlinked as well. Technology leaders should try to dominate interfaces or core components of products systems on an industry-wide basis. In the pre-competition stage, it is possible to purposely exploit technical leadership in order to later on establish overall concepts through systemic standards.
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    Why blu-ray vs. HD-DVD is not VHS vs. Betamax : the co-evolution of standard-setting consortia
    (2009) Christ, Julian P.; Slowak, André P.
    Extensive research has been conducted on the economics of standards in the last three decades. To date, standard-setting studies emphasize a superior role of demand-side-driven technology diffusion; these contributions assume the evolution of a user-driven momentum and network externalities. We find that consumers wait for a dominant standard if they are unable to evaluate technological supremacy. Thus, supply-side-driven activities necessarily need to address an absence of demand-side technology adoption. Our paper focuses on Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD as an illustrative case of consortia standard wars. One central role of consortia is to coordinate strategic behavior between heterogeneous agents, e.g. incumbents, complementors (content providers) and others, but also to form a coalition against other standard candidates. More precisely, we argue that agents signal standard-setting war outcomes through consortia events. We depict the essential role of consortia structures for the recently determined standard war between the High-Definition disc specifications Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Therefore, the paper suggests that unique supply-side dynamics from consortia structures, consortia announcements and exclusive backing decisions of firms determined the standard-setting process in the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD standard war. This study is based on the following data: movie releases and sales numbers, membership affiliation for structural consortia analysis, and an in-depth event study. A detailed comparison of the technological specifications of both standard specifications supports our argument that there was no technological supremacy of one standard candidate from a consumer-oriented usecase perspective. We furthermore clarify that content providers (complementors) such as movie studios and movie rental services feature a gate-keeping position in the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD standard war. In the case of Blu-ray, film studios decided the standard war because the availability of movie releases, but not technological supremacy, made the standard attractive to consumers. Finally, we find that there is a co-evolution of the consortia in terms of membership dynamics. Particularly, firm allegiance of heterogeneous agents plays a crucial role.