Limping, Leaving, and Leading: The Catch-up of Chinese Firms in a Standard Developing Organization

Abstract

While standardization in the telecommunications industry typically occurs during early phases in the R&D process, research-intensive activities are at late phases of the catch-up process, requiring different strategies for latecomer firms to catch up in standardization. The third-generation (3G) technology of cellular telecommunication provided a window of opportunity for Chinese firms to catch up. While China’s homegrown 3G standard with the catch-up of its sponsor firm Datang with the support of the Chinese government has received much attention in the media and academia, little is known about the catch-up of Chinese firms in the international standardization body. This article studies the catch-up of 32 Chinese organizations in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) from 1999 to 2020. While it finds successful catch-up on the country level, the picture on the firm level is more nuanced regarding entry timing, level, and strategies of catch-up. One common pattern is the catch-up process along the hierarchy of activities from attendance, contribution in technical documents, coordination, and leadership positions. However, firms also differ in their strategies, which depend on their time of entry and international operation.