Competing in the age of information often takes the form of standards wars: the fight for market dominance between incompatible technologies. The company's success or failure could easily rest on its ability to conduct a war standards. Standards wars especially bitter in markets with strong network effects, where consumers attach great importance to the compatibility and relationship with each other. These markets tend to have positive feedback, and "tips" to one winner. Based on the study of dozens of wars going standard 100 years ago, this article offers a "battle management" for the war standards. After the war, standard classification and identification of seven key assets that firms can use to successfully create new technologies, the authors recommend three tactics in standards battles. Alliances, using the first-mover advantages, and managing customer expectations "Hide
by Carl Shapiro, Hal Varian R. Source: California Management Review 26 pages. Publication Date: January 1, 1999. Prod. #: CMR140-PDF-ENG
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