Driving factors for service providers to participate in standardization: Insights from the Netherlands

The paper aims to identify factors influencing the service providers' decision to participate in formal standardization at national standards bodies. The paper develops firm- and industry-specific hypotheses and tests them based on a sample of 5,812 Dutch service providers of which 174 actively participated in the Dutch standards body NEN. Our results reveal that company size, export activities, internal R&D and innovation activities are positively related to the service provider's likelihood to participate in formal standardization. Additionally, the service industry and the service type are related to the propensity to standardize. The analysis is limited to Dutch companies' involvement at the Dutch standards body and does not consider their engagement in standardization consortia. The paper combines a large and representative sample of service companies with information about service companies' engagement in standardization for the first time. The findings reveal specific characteristics of service companies active in standardization, which allow the derivation of management and policy implications.