A proposal for an alternative standards setting process

The article unveils and discusses some of the internal and external forces that shape standardization. What would happen if it were solely up to the market to standardize? What are the motivations behind corporate activities in standards setting, which are, after all, costly and tend to be frustratingly slow? Why would users want to have standards? Answers to these questions are given, based on a critical literature review, combined with insights obtained from a survey. Finally, a proposal for a new standards setting process is made that takes all these issues into account.