Voluntary product standards: Linking technical criteria to marketing decisions

This article reports on research carried out to test some of the prevailing hypotheses on engineering standards. The “economic view” is that use of industry standards tends to introduce a higher level of price-based competition in the marketplace. An alternate conceptualization of voluntary product standards which actively factors in market considerations is presented. This conceptualization termed the “institutional approach” clearly acknowledges the interdependency technology creates in industrial markets. From this viewpoint industry standards tend to be coordinating mechanisms to organize and direct technological change, not change buyer behavior.