Anticipatory standards-the next wave

The author examines local-area-network standards from the perspective of what are called anticipatory, or marketing, standards. It is noted that in the past, standards have usually provided a document trail for product decisions, especially in the more mature industries. Within the information technology (IT) industry, however, the trend is changing to one of anticipatory standards: standards that are produced in advance of a product. It is suggested that this change has significant impact on product conceptualization as well on product success and technology acceptance in the market. It is concluded that standards cannot be ignored in conceptualization, and that standards may be driving the market in several key IT areas