http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/21/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38422/ 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z The Republic of Korea is a forerunner in integrating the topic of standardization into engineering education at the academic level. This study investigates developments and evolutions in the planning and operating of the University Education Promotion on Standardization (UEPS) in Korea. This paper examines why the Korean government initiated the UEPS, how the UEPS has operated, and what the educational content of the UEPS program is. This study of the UEPS may serve as a benchmark of how to incorporate technical standards into science and technology education at both the national and individual university levels. Some implications and considerations for the future introduction of similar courses in other countries are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32876/ 2012-12-01T00:00:00Z Restaurant customers demand both personalized innovative, yet, affordable service delivery. Accordingly, restaurant groups that seek expansion must consider how to respond effectively to the standardization-authenticity paradox. This paper addresses two questions: what is the relationship between standardization and authenticity? How can restaurant managers use these concepts for the strategic positioning of their restaurant group? Typically, researchers present the two dimensions as a binary. In contrast, this paper first presents a theoretical model and analyzes the variations in the standardization-authenticity relationship. Subsequently, it classifies restaurant group expansion strategies into four categories: standardization of authenticity, authentic alliance, standardized chains and heterogeneity, and examines their respective level of competence required to increase performance. It concludes by presenting suggestions to position restaurants in terms of the extent of standardization and the extent of flexibility. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32869/ 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z The literature has dedicated significant attention to the effects of standard-supporting, interorganizational networks on the content of standards and standard survival. However, minimal attention has been paid to the effects of the standard’s characteristics and dynamics on these networks. This paper contributes to closing this gap. We introduce the paradoxical concept of ‘standard flexibility’ and study the interaction between the characteristics of a standard-supporting network and the development of the standard itself, including the effect of the interaction on standard success. More specifically, we show how a standard’s flexibility can serve to attract new network members, facilitating growth and diversity of the network, which in turn has implications for further adaptations of the standard. We study this co-evolutionary process in three standards battles: Blu-ray versus HD-DVD, USB versus Firewire, and WiFi versus HomeRF. Our findings suggest that those participating in standardization can persuade non-participating stakeholders to join by allowing for changes in the standard. In turn, the existing members can expect that the new members will request further changes. The cases suggest that early timing of the co-evolutionary process enhances the chances of standard success. We also explore the emergence of path dependencies in the process and the forces that restrict the co-evolutionary process over time. For managers, our findings indicate that changes in standards should not be considered undesirable, but as opportunities that may strengthen the interorganizational network and contribute to a standard’s success. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/37988/ 2012-04-01T00:00:00Z Purpose: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed the ISO 14000 series of standards for environmental management as a response to the concerns about sustainable development expressed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The most important standard is ISO 14001, published in 1996 and slightly modified in 2004, which specifies requirements for environmental management systems. Worldwide, 188,815 organisations have obtained a certificate for their environmental management system based on this standard (figures December 2008). This paper aims to address the extent to which implementation of this standard has contributed to sustainability and also whether implementation is not only an expenditure, but also a source of business benefits. Design/methodology/approach: In order to answer these questions, the existing literature on the impact of ISO 14001 has been reviewed. Findings: Literature shows evidence for environmental and/or business improvements of organisations that have implemented the standard, however, the opposite can also be found. The performance indicators have been identified from which this evidence could be found. Also the literature shows some moderating variables for the impact of ISO 14001. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the insights in the effects of ISO14001. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/25840/ 2011-08-25T00:00:00Z The leading international standards for information security management, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002 originate from the UK, but are applied worldwide. This paper explores whether the processes of selection, implementation and use of these interrelated standards differ between China and Europe by studying cases of Chinese and European companies. Chinese companies face some additional problems with the standards but manage to get them successfully implemented in a short period of time. Main differences relate to governance and management of standard adoption. This study is innovative in the method used for standardisation research (comparative multi-case study), and the topic: implementation and impact of information security management standards. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/26479/ 2011-04-18T00:00:00Z The literature on selection of interface formats is fragmented and does not provide an overall framework in which all relevant factors are included. Current frameworks are incomplete and focus on a subset of the total set of factors. In this paper we develop a more complete overview of factors based on the available literature. First, we perform an extensive literature study of 127 publications, resulting in 29 factors for format dominance. Second, we group the factors into five categories: characteristics of the format supporter, characteristics of the format, format support strategy, other stakeholders, and market characteristics. Third, we perform a meta-analysis and we specify the direction of each factor on format dominance. This results in a framework that facilitates assessing the chances that an interface format achieves dominance. We demonstrate that this framework is more complete than previous frameworks. The framework can be used by both researchers and practitioners to understand historical and current format battles as well as acceptance of formats without direct competitors. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22812/ 2011-03-19T00:00:00Z This paper explores how standardization education can be implemented at the national level. Previous studies form the main source for the paper. This research shows that implementation of standardization in the national education system requires policy at the national level, a long term investment in support, and cooperation between industry, standardization bodies, academia, other institutions involved in education, and government. The approach should combine bottom-up and top-down. The paper is new in combining previous findings to an underpinned recommendation on how to implement standardization education. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17919/ 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z Integration of standardization into different levels of technology education has surfaced as a critical issue for educational practitioners and policy makers at national and regional (APEC, EU) level. In this paper, we describe and analyze empirical data collected from 118 educational experiences and practices about technology standards and standardization in 21 countries of a regional variety. Specifically, this research examines standardization education programs these countries have implemented, and explores suggestive indications for the design and development of an educational policy for standardization. Online surveys, offline interviews, face-to-face meetings and case studies have been used to determine the way these standardization education programs are segmented and implemented in different contexts. The findings are consolidated into a framework for standardization education. The framework presents an applicable combination of target groups (who), appropriate learning objectives (why), probable program operators (where), prospective contents modules (what), and preferred teaching methods (how). This framework may contribute to planning and implementing more inclusive standardization education programs. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21971/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Purpose – This paper seeks to find out which factors influence the willingness of professionals to contribute to a certification process and to understand the rationale behind this willingness. Design/methodology/approach – Based on literature, prerequisites are formulated for the willingness of professionals to contribute to certification. These are compared with the results of a study among lecturers at Universities of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands and Flanders about their willingness to contribute to accreditation of their schools. This study combines survey and Delphi research. Findings – Professionals agree on the added value of certification systems. They are willing to contribute to the certification process, provided that a set of conditions is fulfilled. Research limitations/implications – The case focuses on large organisations for which certification is obligatory. The findings may not apply in small or medium-sized organisations or if the main driver for certification is internal improvement. Further research is needed to verify the generalisation of the results to other sectors and countries. Originality/value – Research has shown that it is difficult to motivate professionals to contribute to certification. Little research has been done on the reasons why. The paper provides more insight into the difficulties that organizations face to commit their professionals to become involved in certification and turns these into requirements to be fulfilled to achieve commitment. These are relevant for organisations, which need the support of their professional employees to achieve management system certification. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20877/ 2010-08-01T00:00:00Z Recent years have witnessed a continuous erosion of the Microsoft Internet Explorer share in the web browser market, mainly induced by the continuous gains of Mozilla Firefox, an open source software product. This tendency would seem to contradict the well-established belief that in a standards battle 'the strong grow stronger while the weak grow weaker'. The objective of this study is to explain the evolution of web browsers through the analysis of the competitive relationship between the main players in this ongoing battle. We examine two standards battles: first, Netscape versus Microsoft, followed by the more recent battle between Microsoft and Mozilla. The analysis contributes to the understanding of standard battles in the context of open source software. It will be argued that some characteristics of Open Source Firefox, such as the semi-open development approach and the involvement of commercial companies, partially explain the rise of this web browser. Lock-in mechanisms, which historically have been reported to be dominant factors in standards battles, seem to have little impact in the context of open source software. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38170/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16885/ 2009-11-01T00:00:00Z In this study, we apply a step-by-step approach for the identification of standards for home networking. We develop a classification and we use this classification to categorize sixty-four (sets of) standards. By developing this categorization, we have brought order to the chaos of home networking standards. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16333/ 2009-06-22T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16337/ 2009-06-22T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16345/ 2009-06-22T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16474/ 2009-06-22T00:00:00Z International standardization presupposes translatability, with respect to both the standards themselves and to the process of standards development. However, the extreme form of the Whorf-Sapir hypothesis claims that accurate translation is in principle impossible. This paper addresses the issue of linguistic relativity using the case of standards development by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). IEC’s multilingualism requires that the languages involved in its activities have common units and values, and that the languages can be compared. Therefore, IEC has to develop its own specialized terminology, specialized graphical symbols and specialized fundamental concepts. That way translatability can be achieved. Participation of the IEC member bodies in these “semantic” activities as well as close coordination with other international organizations are essential. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16038/ 2009-06-02T00:00:00Z International standards setting organizations have different language selection policies. These policies have, besides their financial aspects, also an important cultural/ political dimension. The standards setting organizations are either bilingual (English/ French), or unilingual (English), or multilingual (English, French and further languages). We have investigated the references of the 65 national members of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The main findings are a moderate preference for the use of both English and French for the technical work, and a strong preference for the use of English only for communication.. The obvious dominance of the English language is seen as a necessity, rather than an indication of a hypothetical Anglo-American linguistic/ cultural imperialism. Finally, some conclusions regarding language selection policies in international standards setting organizations are presented. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16039/ 2009-06-02T00:00:00Z Literature suggests that in battles between competing designs, ultimately one design will emerge as dominant to the detriment of the others. Various factors and forces have been identified to explain this phenomenon. Yet, sometimes no dominant design emerges at all and multiple competing designs coexist in the market.. The Flash Memory Card Industry provides an example of this. In this study, we use this example as a case to investigate the circumstances under which an industry has a tendency toward multiple designs. The case shows that a combination of factors may result in multiple designs and we argue that such a combination of factors will increasingly also apply in other cases. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16040/ 2009-06-02T00:00:00Z This paper stems from a research project carried out for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to make an inventory of national standards education policies. Twenty countries - sixteen Asia-Pacific economies and four European nations – have been investigated. The paper relates similarities and differences between these policies to the standardization education activities in place. The paper concludes with policy recommendations. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17685/ 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z Since the late 1990's, governments or national standards organizations have started paying increasing attention to standards education in schools and universities. Many of these initiatives were based on their education policies laid down in a national standards strategy. This paper explores the common and different development status of education policy in national standards strategies in twenty countries. As a result, this paper presents some similarities and dissimilarities in the policy. The resemblance of policies might imply that standards education is considered as a common interest. The differences could indicate that the different interests and socio-economic infrastructure per country require differences in standards education strategy. Also, these differences could indicate a lack of recognition about possible policy considerations and ideas. In this case, the policies of some countries could be referred as good practices as to other countries when they develop their national policy or strategy for standards education. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17686/ 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z International standards setting organizations have different language selection policies. In this study, the ethnolinguistic background of international standardization is assessed. The language selection policies of regional and of global organizations have, besides their financial aspects, also an important cultural/ political dimension. Language selection concerns both the working language(s) and the language(s) for communicating. The perception of the (then) 65 National Committees (NCs) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has been investigated by means of a questionnaire. The main findings are: a moderate preference for the use of both English and French for the technical work (standards development and publication), and a strong preference for the use of English only for communication. In the perception of the IEC member countries, an organization with this language policy can still be regarded as truly international. Finally, our conclusions regarding language selection policies are presented. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31689/ 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z There are standards for most products and services. Sometimes dozens of them. Examples of standards for products: - Standards for connection to another product. - Safety standards. - Standard dimensions. - Standards with test methods to be able to demonstrate the quality of the product. Examples of standards for services: - Standards that lay down what service the customer may expect. - Requirements for staff training. - Standard procedures. Application of standards is sometimes compulsory or virtually compulsory because the law specifies this or because the customer requires it. But it may also be the company’s own choice to use standards, for example to save costs or to serve the customer better. Standards can determine whether a product or services flops or is a mega-success (click here for examples). Standards can provide a steer for a company to capture new markets and achieve better operating results. Click here for benefits of standardization for producers and buyers. The importance of standards and standardization continues to increase. If you would like to know how this comes about, click here. Searching for standards is difficult, as there are so many of them. The danger is that you can no longer see the wood for the trees. Set out below you will find a systematic approach for searching for standards for products and services. We assume that there is already an overall design of the product or service. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1200/ 2004-02-27T00:00:00Z In designing of production systems, economic and social goals can be combined, if ergonomics is integrated into the design process. More than 50 years of ergonomics research and practice have resulted in a large number of ergonomics standards for designing physical and organizational work environments. This paper gives an overview of the 174 international ISO and European CEN standards in this field, and discusses their applicability in design processes. The available standards include general recommendations for integrating ergonomics into the design process, as well as specific requirements for manual handling, mental load, task design, human-computer-interaction, noise, heat, body measurements, and other topics. The standards can be used in different phases of the design process: allocation of system functions between humans and machines, design of the work organization, work tasks and jobs, design of work environment, design of work equipment, hardware and software, and design of workspace and workstation. The paper is meant to inform engineers and managers involved in the design of production systems about the existence of a large number of ISO and CEN standards on ergonomics, which can be used to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/30834/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z Inleidend: Toepassing van normen is soms verplicht of bijna verplicht, omdat de wet dat voorschrijft of omdat de klant het eist. Maar het kan ook een eigen keuze van het bedrijf zijn om normen te gebruiken, bijvoorbeeld om kosten te besparen of de klanten beter te bedienen. Normen kunnen bepalen of een product of dienst flopt of een mega-succes wordt (klik hier voor voorbeelden). Normen kunnen een stuurmiddel voor een bedrijf zijn om nieuwe markten te veroveren en betere bedrijfsresultaten te krijgen. Klik hier voor voordelen van normalisatie voor producenten en afnemers. Het belang van normen en normalisatie neemt steeds verder toe. Wil je weten, hoe dat komt, klik dan hier. Normen uitzoeken is lastig, omdat er zo veel zijn. Het gevaar is dat je door de bomen het bos niet meer ziet. Hieronder vind je een systematische benadering om normen voor producten en diensten uit te zoeken. We gaan er van uit dat er al een globaal ontwerp van het product of de dienst is.... http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32904/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/236/ 2002-10-22T00:00:00Z The importance of standardisation is growing. This might be reflected in a growth of standardisation education. In this paper we will elaborate on education in the field of standardisation. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/233/ 2002-10-08T00:00:00Z Though the majority of standards are company standards, scientific standardisation literature pays hardly any attention to them. In this paper we describe results from a research project on company standardisation (Oly & Slob, 1999). The researchers investigated six chemical and petrochemical industries in the Netherlands: Akzo Nobel, Dow Chemical, DSM, Gasunie, NAM and Shell. These companies have numerous standards for their installations. Best practice for developing such standards was developed by examining the companies and using insights from relevant literature. This paper describes the scientific approach used and some of the best practice results. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/81/ 2001-03-22T00:00:00Z The banks in the Dutch chipcard market initially agreed on one chipcard system. One system is attractive for companies as well as consumers. Companies, banks and retailers, prevent costs of duplication, while consumers enjoy the benefits of a widespread acceptance of one card and do not face uncertainty regarding the chipcard standard. Two standards could harm the development of the chipcard market. However, one bank withdrew from the initial agreement and introduced its own chipcard system in December 1995. This has resulted in a costly battle between the two banking chipcard standards, duplication costs for retailers, the introduction of a gateway technology in order to establish compatibility for users, and low market acceptance of the chipcards. March 2001, after a struggle of more than five years, the banks decided to return to one chipcard. The rationality of the decision to withdraw, despite the prospect that everybody may be worse off, will be analyzed from the perspective of game theory and the theory regarding standards battles. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15704/ 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z The banks in the Dutch chipcard marker initially agreed on one chipcard system. One system is attractive for companies as well as consumers. Companies, banks, and retailers prevent costs of duplication, while consumers enjoy the benefits of a widespread acceptance of one card and do not face uncertainty regarding the chipcard standard. Two standards could harm the development of the chipcard market. However; Pastbank withdrew from the initial agreement and introduced its own chipcard system in December 1995. This has resulted in a costly battle between the two banking chzpcard standards, duplication costs for retailers, the introduction of a gateway technology in order to establish compatibility for users, and low market acceptance of chipcards. In March 2001, after a struggle of more than five years, the banks decided to return to one chipcard. The rationality of Posibank's decision to withdraw, despite the prospect that everybody may be worse off will be analyzed from the perspective of game theory and the theory regarding standards battles.