Speaker: Aija Leiponen

Date: Wednesday, November 03, 2004 4:15-5:15p

Location: 301 College Avenue, Seminar Room

Abstract -

Most Information and Communication Technologies are network technologies that require coordination of technical solutions in order to ensure interoperability. At the same time, each supplier of technology would prefer their own solutions to be adopted and incorporated in the standard. Hence, firms compete against one another in promoting adoption. This paper explores firms' cooperative strategies to achieve coordination and adoption. The focus is on whether firms can influence standardization outcomes within a Standards Development Organization (SDO) through external cooperation activities. In the specific case of Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in the wireless telecommunication industry, members are embedded in an extensive network of external collaborative linkages with one another. They are engaged in private alliances and joint ventures; they participate in numerous industry fora and associations; and many of them also meet each other in other SDOs in different technology areas. This study considers whether these external networks influence the firms' performance within 3GPP in terms of making successful change requests in working groups. Preliminary estimation results indicate that external collaborative activities indeed reinforce firms' ability to influence standardization outcomes within an SDO. Successful organization of standardization activities thus involves bundling different types of collaborative arrangements.


Bio -

Aija Leiponen is an assistant professor in Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University. Her teaching and research concern organizational issues related to technological change and innovation. A special research focus is on firms' collaborative innovation strategies: when, why, and how do firms collaborate in innovation? Recent publications examine the implications of complementarities among innovation-related activities for organizational choices (whether to make in-house or cooperate) under different technological regimes; the incentives for innovation created by intellectual property control rights in supply or outsourcing relationships; and effects of knowledge management strategies on types of innovation. Ongoing research projects investigate the importance of breadth in terms of innovation objectives and cooperative strategies in technical standardization.

If you would like to meet with Aija contact Anat Nidar-Levi.


For more information please contact Jeff Hancock.