Martina Gerst

Shaping IT Standardization in the Automotive Industry – The Role of Power in Driving Portal Standardization

The advent of Internet technologies during the past decade has accelerated the diffusion of interorganizational networks and has intensified collaboration among organizations. Currently, most interorganization systems have moved to the public Internet network and rely on Internet and associated standards such as XML to codify and exchange data. Though often portrayed as a narrow technical matter, interorganizational systems standard setting is a complex social process, shaped by the power relations among the potential participants. This paper discusses the role that the power relations among the automotive industry actors played during the early development stages of Covisint – an interorganizational system aiming to set up a de‐facto platform for e‐commerce in the automotive industry. Whereas current empirical studies on standardization focus on the success of coalitions of large users to establish de facto standards, our study explores the failure of such an initiative. The study finds that changes in t...

The costs of adoption of RFID technologies in supply networks

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the different types of adoption costs faced by organizations involved in the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) within supply networks, and to understand how these potential costs affect the likelihood of RFID adoption., – The paper applies an existing generic theoretical framework of costs associated with process innovation adoption to the case of RFID technology. Data are collected by interviewing participants in the RFID adoption process in supply network settings, and by examining a range of publicly available information on RFID development. The data are used to test and expand the theoretical framework., – Of the six main categories of generic process innovation costs, four are identified as applicable in the case of RFID adoption by early adopters: development, switching, cost of capital and implementation. No evidence is found for initiation and relational costs. In addition, a seventh category of costs is identified as applicable to the adoption of RFID in supply networks: ethical costs associated with privacy and health issues., – Further empirical work is required to test the generalisability of the findings. Because RFID technology is still in the early phases of development, the research has been able to consider only early adopters: further work is required as the technology matures to assess the impact of costs throughout the technology development lifecycle., – The work demonstrates that when considering the adoption of RFID managers need to look at a range of potential costs in making the investment decision. Policy makers also need to consider how organizations consider a range of costs that may not be explicitly specified when making adoption decisions., – The paper tests and extends the generic framework of costs associated with process innovations in supply networks. The study also clarifies the various costs involved in the adoption of RFID technologies by early adopters, and their influence on the decision to adopt.

Social Shaping a Standardization: A Case Study from Auto Industry

Inter-organizational collaboration requires systems interoperability which is not possible in the absence of common standards. However, empirical research has shown that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards can be a major barrier in the progress of Information Technology (IT)-enabled inter-organizational collaboration. Though often portrayed as a narrow technical matter, standard setting is a complex social process, shaped by an array of factors and representing embodiments of social relationships between the actors. This paper approaches standardization from a Social Shaping of Technology (SST) perspective. The paper explores the characteristics and factors that shape the development and implementation of a standard in the case of a portal implementation in the automotive industry.

Intraorganisational power and the adoption of interorganisational IT innovations: The inside story of Covisint

The failure of Covisint to establish a standardised e-commerce platform for the automotive industry has been widely documented in the literature. Generally, its failure is explained based on the external dynamics of conflicts between industry actors. Based on an in-depth ethnographic case study, this paper uncovers the inside story of Covisint, looking at the distribution of power within the organisational actors involved in the development and adoption of Covisint. The study finds that the adoption of Covisint has altered the power distribution not only at the level of the industry, but also within the adopting organisations themselves. The introduction of a new e-commerce platform to mediate supplier relationships threatens the position of various organisational departments. Power struggles result in significant compromises over the original objectives of the platform, ultimately leading to localised adaptations of what was envisaged to be a global standardised e-commerce platform.

E-business standardisation in the automotive industry - two approaches towards the integration of SMEs

This paper looks at two different approaches to the development of standards in sectors with a strong presence of SMEs. A case study explores Covisint, one of the automotive industrys major electronic markets, as an example of a sector-specific approach to standards setting. This approach eventually failed, and the reasons for this failure are identified and analysed. The committee-based approach to standardisation is subsequently discussed. Theoretical deliberations, together with the outcome of a survey, lead to a number of recommendations how more relevant standards could be produced, and how the role of SMEs in standards setting could be improved.

How to perceive the (future) role of China in ICT standardisation - A European perspective

The paper argues that the Chinese standardisation system should not be perceived as a threat to international ICT standardisation, and that the rather more relaxed attitude of the EU is the best way forward. It claims that a co-operation based approach to the increasingly powerful relative newcomer is much more appropriate than one based on competition. These arguments are based on a discussion of the European and Chinese standardisation systems, on a subsequent SWOT analysis and on a brief case study.