Exploring standards consortium survival in high tech industries: The effects of commitment and internal competition

Standards consortia develop technical standards or specifications and promote these to reach market dominance. Research on competing standards has explored either firm-level or standard-level factors, but the dynamics of standards consortia and their survival have remained largely understudied. The pre- and post-competitive phase of standards consortia supporting standards may better explain why certain standard-setting efforts fail where others succeed. In this empirical study we operationalize the concepts of internal standards consortium competition and standards consortium commitment, and analyse the effects of these concepts on the survival of high-tech standards consortia. We find that the influx of new strategic members throughout the years is beneficial for the longevity of the consortium. In addition, we find that standards consortia possibly constrain the entrance of new members if their existing members have a multitude of other concurrent standards consortium memberships.