New rules for standards-setting and new roles of standardization bodies in the era of IoT

By now, there have been many standards battles within the same industry in which incompatible interface formats competed to win market dominance. Now, in the era of convergence represented by IoT, unprecedented patterns of clashes occur between standards in different industries. This paper aims to bring new insights by examining two cases of standards clashes between different industries in newly rising converging sectors, which often involve emerging or disruptive technologies. We analyze conflicting standards used by different industries in the cases of electric vehicles and connected cars. Common themes arising from the cases are discussed from the perspectives of technical and social compatibilities. The findings of this paper highlight a growing importance of coordinating conflicting technical and social interests in the era of IoT. We provide suggestions for standardization bodies on how to address standards clashes with respect to technology convergence in the era of IoT.