Neither Heroes nor Chaos: The Victory of VHS against Betamax

Different Approaches To Standardization

Different definitions of the notion of standard might be found in the literature; from a general point of view, a standard might be defined as a stable set of rules which specify what the adopters of the standard are requested to do (David & Greenstein, 1990; Link, 1983). Current literature divides the standardization process in two main phases: the creation phase and the diffusion phase (Dosi, 2000). The creation phase is the one where alternative sets of rules or technologies are created: the standard might be considered as a work in progress. The diffusion phase is the one where the standard is disseminated and possibly adopted by users. This analytical distinction allows highlighting that standardization is a voluntary process aimed at defining a set of rules which are then adopted by the interested actors.

The topic of standardization crosses both the economic and social research field; the following two sections briefly summarize this extensive body of literature.