Abstract
Over time, a number of open standards have been developed and implemented in software for addressing a number of challenges, such as lock-in, interoperability and longevity of software systems and associated digital artefacts. An understanding of organisational involvement and collaboration in standardisation is important for informing any future policy and organisational decisions concerning involvement in standardisation. The overarching goal of the study is to establish how organisations contribute to open standards development through editorship. Specifically, the focus is on open standards development in the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Through an analysis of editorship for all W3C recommendations we contribute novel findings concerning organisational involvement and collaboration, and highlight contributions from different types of organisations and countries. We make five principal contributions. First, we establish an overall characterisation of organisational involvement in W3C standardisation. Second, we report on organisational involvement in W3C standardisation over time. Third, we establish how different organisations, organisation types, and countries are involved in W3C technologies. Fourth, we report on organisational involvement in relation to standard development time. Fifth, we establish how organisations collaborate in W3C standardisation through social network analysis.
Highlights
Over time, a number of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards have been developed and deployed for addressing a number of challenges in the area of software systems, including interoperability and longevity of systems [30]
We report on organisational involvement in relation to standard development time
Findings show that involvement and collaboration in many cases include international participation from organisations with headquarters in a variety of different countries
Summary
A number of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards have been developed and deployed for addressing a number of challenges in the area of software systems, including interoperability and longevity of systems [30]. In the area of ICT standardisation there are a number of efforts and different (sometimes conflicting) interests amongst stakeholders involved. Previous research shows that “companies are the most important and typically the most powerful stakeholders in (ICT) standards setting” [23]. There are many different types of organisations and consortia developing and promoting standards in a number of different contexts. The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) promotes many different standards in the area of ICT. At national level, there are a number of organisations promoting national standards, such as the BSI which is the oldest national standardisation organisation being established in 1901. Numerous stakeholders that represent a range of different organisations (including individual ICT-companies, vendor consortia, user organisations, and public sector organisations) are involved in and affected by standards at international, national, and local levels.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
