Stakeholder salience and standardisation

The case of the industrial internet of things

Journal Article (2026)
Author(s)

Boris van Dongen (Student TU Delft)

Geerten van de Kaa (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)

Marcel Ludema (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)

Research Group
Economics of Technology and Innovation
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115895 Final published version
More Info
expand_more
Publication Year
2026
Language
English
Research Group
Economics of Technology and Innovation
Journal title
Journal of Business Research
Volume number
205
Article number
115895
Downloads counter
41
Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Abstract

New innovative systems may address societal challenges such as climate change and energy scarcity. Often, these innovative systems are realized following a set of predefined standards. Sometimes, multiple standards compete for market dominance. This paper addresses factors that affect standard competition and dominance. It investigates how the composition of standardization organizations with respect to their salience influences the success of standards by applying a refined method for identifying stakeholders and their salience. The paper contributes to the literature by providing initial evidence that stakeholder salience affects standards dominance. It appears that user engagement and the involvement of definitive stakeholders, holding power, urgency and legitimacy increases standards dominance and that avoiding dangerous stakeholders that lack legitimacy has a possible effect on standards success. These are important considerations to consider by practitioners.