THE EMERGENCE of DE-FACTO STANDARDS 328 SIMON DEN UIJL Increasingly, Companies Compete on Technologies That Bring Together Groups of Users in Two-Sided Networks
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
B&T14459 omslag den uijl - nieuw bestand B&T14459 uitnod. den uijl - nieuw bestand THE EMERGENCE OF DE-FACTO STANDARDS 328 SIMON DEN UIJL Increasingly, companies compete on technologies that bring together groups of users in two-sided networks. Examples include smartphones and on-line search engines. Industries governed by such platform technologies commonly show one emerging as the de-facto standard. This is because these industries are prone to network externalities (i.e. when the The Emergence of benefit that can be derived from a technology increases exponentially with the number of SIMON DEN UIJL - The Emergence of De-facto Standards users). Competitions for the de-facto standard are high-stakes games. These ‘winner-take- De-facto Standards all’ markets demonstrate very different competitive dynamics than markets in which many competitors can coexist relatively peacefully, as they often have a single tipping point which shifts market adoption to one particular technology. The academic field lacks a robust clarification on how firms can shape the odds of their technology emerging as the de-facto standard. This study develops an integrative framework and corresponding methodology for under standing the process by which a technology becomes the de-facto standard. By apply - ing the framework to several technology competitions, insight is provided in how firm-, Invitation technology- and market-related elements influence technology competitions. Results indi - cate that the emergence of every de-facto standard displays a unique path. This path can be divided into six phases, and can be influenced by 34 unique elements, of which 17 are You are most kindly invited to attend subject to strategic decision making. Patterns between technology competitions indicate a the public defense of the dissertation common set of focal points per phase. Design & layout: B&T Ontwerp en advies (www.b-en-t.nl) Print: Haveka (www.haveka.nl) ERIM The Emergence of De-facto Standards The Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) is the Research School (Onder - by zoek school) in the field of management of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. The founding participants of ERIM are the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), and the Erasmus Simon den Uijl School of Econo mics (ESE). ERIM was founded in 1999 and is officially accre dited by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The research under taken by ERIM is focused on the management of the firm in its environment, its intra- and interfirm Thursday, January 15, 2015 relations, and its busi ness processes in their interdependent connections. at 13:30 hrs The objective of ERIM is to carry out first rate research in manage ment, and to offer an Senaatszaal Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ad vanced doctoral pro gramme in Research in Management. Within ERIM, over three Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 hundred senior researchers and PhD candidates are active in the different research pro - 3062 PA Rotterdam grammes. From a variety of acade mic backgrounds and expertises, the ERIM commu nity is united in striving for excellence and working at the fore front of creating new business knowledge. After the defense a reception will be held. Erasmus Research Institute of Management - Looking forward to seeing you at this special occasion. SIMON DEN UIJL +31 6 81 936 667 [email protected] Erasmus Research Institute of Management - ERIM PhD Series Research in Management If you have any questions concerning the ceremony feel free to contact either Erasmus Research Institute of Management - Tel. +31 10 408 11 82 of my ‘paranimfen’: Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) Fax +31 10 408 96 40 ERIM MARCIA DEN UIJL – DE GROOT Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) E-mail [email protected] +31 6 48 200 756 Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) Internet www.erim.eur.nl [email protected] P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands MARINUS TEERLING +31 6 44 744 912 [email protected] The Emergence of De-Facto Standards 1_Erim_Uil_bw stand.job 2_Erim_Uil_bw stand.job The Emergence of De-facto Standards Het tot stand komen van markt-standaarden Thesis to obtain the degree of Doctor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam by command of the rector magnificus Prof.dr. H.A.P. Pols and in accordance with the decision of the Doctorate Board. The public defense shall be held on Thursday, January 15th, 2015 at 13:30 hours By Simon den Uijl born in Pijnacker. 3_Erim_Uil_bw stand.job Doctoral Committee Promotor: Prof.dr. K. Blind Other members: Prof.dr.ir. J.C.M. van den Ende Prof. F.F. Suarez PhD Prof. M.W. Van Alstyne PhD Copromotor: Dr.ir. H.J. de Vries Erasmus Research Institute of Management – ERIM The joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at the Erasmus University Rotterdam Internet: http://www.erim.eur.nl ERIM Electronic Series Portal: http://hdl.handle.net/1765/1 ERIM PhD Series in Research in Management, 328 ERIM reference number: EPS-2014-328-LIS ISBN 978-90-5892-381-3 © 2014, Simon den Uijl Design: B&T Ontwerp en advies www.b-en-t.nl This publication (cover and interior) is printed by haveka.nl on recycled paper, Revive®. The ink used is produced from renewable resources and alcohol free fountain solution. Certifications for the paper and the printing production process: Recycle, EU Flower, FSC, ISO14001. More info: http://www.haveka.nl/greening All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. 4_Erim_Uil_bw stand.job to Marcia and Anna 5_Erim_Uil_bw stand.job 6_Erim_Uil_bw stand.job Acknowledgements I hereby present you my dissertation. This is the result of a long and inspiring journey, which started in 2006. Throughout the years, I found my research very satisfying as it taught me a lot about something I am very passionate about; to understand technological progress, and how some technologies are massively adopted by society whereas others are not. In my professional career I strive towards making inventions successful, and my research enabled me to add valuable insights from the academic field to my hands-on experience. From the start, I decided to write this dissertation next to my full time job. Because of this decision, the process was not always easy, but it gave me great appreciation of the end result which lies here before you. I would like to express my gratitude to several people, without whom I could not have written this dissertation. I would first like to thank Dr. Ir. Henk J. de Vries for offering me the possibility to write this PhD thesis. Henk, I have always much enjoyed our discussions, and I believe over time our relationship has evolved into something that can best be described as friendship. Thanks also for your coaching, the numerous hours that you spent reviewing my work, and being co-author in all of my papers. It has been a pleasure to work with you. Secondly, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Knut Blind. I have always greatly valued our discussions and your feedback. Thanks for coaching me and reviewing my work. I had hoped for more opportunities to publish papers together, but I believe we will find a way to collaborate in the future. Thirdly, I would like to thank my co-authors of the papers that were published in Organization Studies and California Management Review, Prof. Dr. Ir. Jan van den Ende, Dr. Geerten van der Kaa, and Dr. Ir. Ing. Rudi Bekkers. I would especially like to thank Jan for demonstrating how to write a good paper. To all the students that I have worked with over the years, I would like to say that it has been a pleasure to coach you, collaborate with you and grade your thesis. I would especially like to thank Deniz Bayramoglu and Chris Ismyrloglou for working with me on researching the cases of MP3 and SA-CD respectively. I hope we will stay in touch for many more years and wish you all the best in your careers. I would like to thank my current employer, Royal Philips, and especially Dr. Ir. Maurice Maes, for providing me with the opportunity to work in the field of standardization and being very supportive of my academic efforts. In addition, I would like to thank my previous employer, the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands, and in particular Dr. Ir. Kees van der Klein, for supporting my academic efforts. I would like to thank all people that I have had the pleasure to interview for my case studies. I much appreciate that you made time to share your insights. These have been invaluable to understand the dynamics of the emergence of de-facto standards. I would like to thank my parents, Piet and Gaby, for stimulating me to pursue this dissertation, for being such great examples, and showing that everything is possible with hard work. I would like to thank my brother, Michaël for his ongoing support. I would also like to thank my parents in law, Nico and Bwee for always showing an interest in my research and reading my papers. i 7_Erim_Uil_bw stand.job Finally, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my wife Marcia and our daughter Anna. I love you both very much and greatly appreciate that you both tolerated me to invest so much time in my dissertation. Now that the thesis is finalized, I hope to spend much more time together as a family and enjoy our life together.