The Institutional Domain of Technology Diffusion

This article reports on the influence of product type on the purchasing structure within selected phases of the purchasing process by using regression analysis on data from Greek manufacturing and utility enterprises. Our study examined the influence of two different categories of items, namely product incorporated items and MRO (maintenance, repair and operating) items, on various aspects of the purchasing cycle. The results suggested that parameters of purchasing structure varied considerably between the two product types and that their configuration depended on attributes such as product complexity and environmental uncertainty.

The influence of product type on the purchasing structure

How electrical contractors choose distributors

This paper discusses strategic issues related to technological de facto standards. Based on our historical and empirical analyses of 13 cases mainly observed in the Japanese audio-visual and IT-related fields, we pose the following six propositions on de facto standard-based competition: 1. User will benefit by utilising and exchanging skill/software based on de facto standards, and manufacturers will benefit by forming de facto standards through their market dominance and licensing income; 2. A product which requires a high level of connectivity and accumulated skill/software is likely to form a de facto technological standard. 3. The earlier a firm establishes a majority of the market share, the more likely it is to establish a technological de facto standard. 4. A de facto standard is likely to be fixed when its diffusion (share) reaches 2–3% of the market. 5. The more killer applications a firm can introduce the more likely it is to establish/maintain/profit from a technological de facto standard. 6. The more efforts a firm makes to promote its technology/product to its competitors, suppliers and distributors, the more likely it is to establish/maintain/profit from a technological de facto standard.

How to profit from de facto standard-based competition: Learning from Japanese firms' experiences

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.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel7/17/6499008/06499013.pdf

Brian Latham

Papers

Marketing to associations that specify or approve industrial products