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Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) play a critical role in fostering stable technological ecosystems through coordinated, consensus-driven efforts. By facilitating open and democratic processes, SDOs enable stakeholders to collaboratively develop, review, and publish standards that enhance interoperability and technology adoption. Despite their cooperative mandate, SDOs are often highly competitive and politically driven organizations. Prior research has shown that high-status individuals and organizations enjoy significant advantages in the standards-setting processes, receiving more attention and encountering less resistance in review processes. As a result, high-status participants continue to excel in the standards publication race, leveraging their technical expertise, high-stakes affiliations, and effective collaboration strategies.
Findings reveal that the size and diversity of collaboration networks significantly influence individual success in SDOs. Specifically, smaller and more strategically curated networks tend to yield higher publication outcomes than expansive collaborations. Network diversity, particularly in terms of collaborators’ leadership status, contributes positively to individual success. The study further distinguishes between local and global network positions. Occupying a bridging position in one's immediate (ego) network is associated with lower success, whereas high betweenness centrality in the broader network provides access to diverse technological domains and enhances publication outcomes. Moreover, collaborating with highly influential individuals (i.e., Bonacich centrality) does not indicate significance concerning individual performance in SDOs. It indicates a limited benefit of merely associating with well-connected peers for standard development.
This research deepens the understanding of micro-level competitive dynamics in SDOs, which remains a relatively underexplored area. By applying social network theories such as structural hole theory, it highlights how collaboration strategies and network dynamics affect individual innovation outcomes. The study also advances the application of social network concepts in understanding technology standardization platforms. While the analysis is limited to the IETF and has a limited timeframe, the research framework provides a foundation that can be replicated across other SDO contexts. Future studies may expand the scope and provide advanced, actionable insights for professionals and firms in designing their collaboration efforts within SDOs.