Social Shaping & Standardization: A Case Study from Auto Industry

Inter-organizational collaboration requires systems interoperability which is not possible in the absence of common standards. However, empirical research has shown that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards can be a major barrier in the progress of Information Technology (IT)-enabled inter-organizational collaboration. Though often portrayed as a narrow technical matter, standard setting is a complex social process, shaped by an array of factors and representing embodiments of social relationships between the actors. This paper approaches standardization from a Social Shaping of Technology (SST) perspective. The paper explores the characteristics and factors that shape the development and implementation of a standard in the case of a portal implementation in the automotive industry.