Factors facilitating collective actions in the vertical standards setting process : an ebXML story.

• Main Authors: Lim, Chuan Huat., Ong, Pei Fen., Ong, Yi Lin.
• Other Authors: Boh, Wai Fong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Information technology::Electronic commerce
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/10034
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This research focuses on the factors, heterogeneity of interests and resources, as well as centrality in affecting collective actions in developing vertical standards. The study is specifically done in the context of the Business Process Technical Committee of one of the vertical standards, ebXML. The research is conducted at the individuals’ level and the issue level. Taking the notion that vertical standards are public goods, the aim of the research is to identify factors that will affect the level of collective actions in vertical standards development. By taking individuals in the ebXML BPTC as an unit of analysis, their attributes were statistically analyzed against the level of activity they exhibited. The paper also looked at each issue that arose in the meeting minutes of the ebXML BPTC as another unit of analysis. At the issue level, the research is mainly exploratory in nature. Our findings are consistent at both levels of analysis. The results have shown that the heterogeneity of both interests and resources has no significant effect on the level of collective actions in ebXML BPTC. On the other hand, network centrality is a better predictor of the level of collective actions in ebXML BPTC.