Investigating the value of formal alliances and competitor interdependency in the development of consumer technology standards

Abstract

The thesis explored the phenomena of co-opetition and the interdependency between competitors, with the establishment of independent formal consortia and alliances in the agreement, adoption, and confirmation of technology standards within the wireless power sector. Co-opetition is when normally competing companies collaborate and co-operate on a common goal. The research builds on earlier work observing the effects of interdependent innovation technology standards and, in particular, extends the work of Bar and Leiponen (2014) and Dokko and Rosenkopf (2010). Access was given to the membership database of 137 members from The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and permission to directly contact members allowed for both qualitative and quantitative data collection. The quantitative data was gathered of member activity over a three-year period including weekly/monthly meeting minutes, bi-annual/annual general meeting presentations and minutes. The qualitative information was gathered from multiple face-to-face interviews with executives from member corporations. Additional details were collected of member attendance and participation in seven working committees. The impact of the data analysis identified methods of how companies position themselves to achieve influence within standards-based alliances. This paper contributes to the existing literature and body of empirical studies that examine the relationships between standard setting and alliance development from various industries and products.