Standards dynamics through an innovation lens: Next-generation ethernet networks

The inherent need for stable standards is difficult to reconcile with the aim of developing state-of-the-art standards and combine standardization with innovation. Standards change is inevitable, leads to increased transaction costs, and calls prior interoperability into question. In this article we analyze the problem of standards change as a feature of innovation. The focus is on the dynamics associated with committee standards when specifications and technologies co-evolve. We consider disruptions in the technology and/or the value chain simultaneously to classify innovations into four types. By identifying the type of innovation at hand, innovation-specific issues of standards change can be singled out. We illustrate this with the case of standards for next-generation Ethernet networks.