Joel’s research on standards considers strategies by IT firms to create and capture value through product compatibility standards strategies, with a particular focus on platforms and open standards. It also looks at standardization processes, both inter-organizational and intra-organizational.

Unofficial copies of the paper are available by clicking on the title of the paper. Official copies (where copyright permits) can be reached by clicking on the DOI or by browsing the issue date.

See also Joel’s standards resource page and his research on wireless telecommunications.

Published Papers

Most cited papers listed in bold

Joel West, “Challenges of Funding Open Innovation Platforms: Lessons from Symbian Ltd.,” in Henry Chesbrough, Wim Vanhaverbeke and Joel West, eds., New Frontiers in Open Innovation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 71-93. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199682461.003.0004

Joel West and David Wood, “Evolving an Open Ecosystem: The Rise and Fall of the Symbian Platform,” in Ron Adner, Joanne Oxley and Brian Silverman, eds., Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 30, 2013, pp. 27-68.  DOI: 10.1108/S0742-3322(2013)0000030005. ISBN: 1781908265

C. Jason Woodard and Joel West, “Strategic Responses to Standardization: Embrace, Extend or Extinguish?” in Gino Cattani, Simone Ferriani, Lars Frederiksen, Florian Täube, eds., Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 28, 2011, pp. 263-285. DOI: 10.1108/S0742-3322(2011)0000028014. ISBN: 1780521928

Joel West and Vladislav V. Fomin, “Competing views of standards competition: Response to Egyedi & Koppenhol,” letter, International Journal of IT Standards & Standardization Research, 9, 1 (January 2011): i-iv.

Joel West and Michael Mace, “Browsing as the killer app: Explaining the rapid success of Apple’s iPhone,” Telecommunications Policy, 34, 5-6 (June-July 2010): 270-286. DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2009.12.002

Scott Gallagher and Joel West, “Reconceptualizing and expanding the positive feedback network effects model: A case study,” Journal of Engineering and Technology Management 26, 3 (Sept. 2009): 131-147. DOI: 10.1016/j.jengtecman.2009.06.007

Rudi Bekkers and Joel West, “The Limits to IPR Standardization Policies as Evidenced by Strategic Patenting in UMTS,” Telecommunications Policy, 33, 1-2 (Feb.-March 2009): 80-97. DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2008.11.003

Rudi Bekkers and Joel West, “Standards, Patents and Mobile Phones: Lessons from ETSI’s Handling of UMTS,” International Journal of IT Standards & Standardization Research, 7, 1 (January 2009), 13-34.

Joel West, “Seeking Open Infrastructure: Contrasting Open Standards, Open Source and Open Innovation,” First Monday, 12, 6 (June 2007).

Joel West, “The Economic Realities of Open Standards: Black, White and Many Shades of Gray,” in Shane Greenstein and Victor Stango, eds., Standards and Public Policy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 87-122.

Joel West and Jason Dedrick, “Scope and Timing of Deployment: Moderators of Organizational Adoption of the Linux Server Platform,” International Journal of IT Standards Research 4, 2 (July 2006).

Henk de Vries and Joel West, “Guest Editorial,” International Journal of IT Standards & Standardization Research, 4, 1 (Jan. 2006): iii-iv.

Joel West, “The fall of a Silicon Valley icon: Was Apple really Betamax redux?”; in Richard A. Bettis, ed., Strategy in Transition, Oxford: Blackwell, 2005, pp. 274-301.

Joel West, “How Open is Open Enough? Melding Proprietary and Open Source Platform Strategies,” Research Policy 32, 7 (July 2003): 1259-1285. DOI: 10.1016/S0048-7333(03)00052-0

Joel West and Jason Dedrick, “Open Source Standardization: The Rise of Linux in the Network Era,” Knowledge, Technology & Policy, 14, 2 (Summer 2001): 88-112.

Joel West and Jason Dedrick, “Innovation and Control in Standards Architectures: The Rise and Fall of Japan’s PC-98,” Information Systems Research, 11, 2 (June 2000): 197-216.

Joel West, “Institutional Constraints in the Initial Deployment of Cellular Telephone Service on Three Continents,” in Kai Jakobs, ed., Information Technology Standards and Standardization: A Global Perspective, Philadelphia: Idea Group, 2000, pp. 198-221.

Conference Proceedings and Presentations

All presentations by Joel West unless indicated by *

*Jason Woodard and Joel West, “Strategic Responses to Standardization: Embrace, Extend or Extinguish?” paper symposium, Technology and Innovation Management and Business Policy and Strategy divisions, Academy of Management conference, Chicago, August 10, 2009.

Joel West, “Contrasting Firm Strategies for Open Standards, Open Source and Open Innovation,” Designing Cyberinfrastructure for Collaboration and Innovation conference, National Academies, Washington, DC, January 29, 2007.

Rudi Bekkers and Joel West, “The Effect of Strategic Patenting on Cumulative Innovation in UMTS Standardization,” DIME Workshop on Rules, Norms and Standards in the Institutional IPR Environment, London, March 23, 2006.

Joel West, “Information Systems Standards, Users and Organizations,” Academy of Management conference, Organizational Communication and Information Systems division, New Orleans, La., August 2004.

Henk J. de Vries and Joel West, “Introduction to the Minitrack on Standards and Standardization,” Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawai‘i International Conference on System Sciences, Waikoloa, Hawaii (Jan. 2005): 202. DOI: 10.1109/HICSS.2005.353

Jason Dedrick and Joel West, “An Exploratory Study into Open Source Platform Adoption,” Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawai‘i International Conference on System Sciences, Waikoloa, Hawaii (Jan. 2004): 80265b. DOI: 10.1109/HICSS.2004.1265633

Joel West, “The Role of Standards in the Creation and Use of Information Systems,” in John L. King, and Kalle Lyytinen, eds., Proceedings of the Workshop on Standard Making: A Critical Research Frontier for Information Systems, Seattle, Wash. (December 2003): 314-326.

Jason Dedrick and Joel West, “Why Firms Adopt Open Source Platforms: A Grounded Theory of Innovation and Standards Adoption,” in John L. King, and Kalle Lyytinen, eds., Proceedings of the Workshop on Standard Making: A Critical Research Frontier for Information Systems, Seattle, Wash. (December 2003): 236-257.

Joel West, “Network Externalities vs. Switching Costs: Which Better Explains Buyer Decisions On Computer Standards?” PDMA Research Conference Proceedings 2001, Santa Clara, Calif. (Oct. 2001): 159-176.

Joel West, “Qualcomm’s Standards Strategy,” Proceedings of the 2nd IEEE Conference on Standardization and Innovation in Information Technology, Boulder, Colorado (Oct. 2001): 62-76. DOI: 10.1109/SIIT.2001.968556

Joel West and Jason Dedrick, “Proprietary vs. Open Standards in the Network Era: An Examination of the Linux Phenomenon,” Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawai‘i International Conference on System Sciences, Maui, Hawaii (Jan. 2001): 5011.

Joel West, “Reconsidering the Assumptions for ‘Tipping’ in Network Markets,” Proceedings of the 1st IEEE Conference on Standardisation and Innovation in Information Technology, Aachen, Germany (Sept. 1999): 163-168.

Joel West, “Organizational Decisions for I.T. Standards Adoption: Antecedents and Consequences,” Proceedings of the 1st IEEE Conference on Standardisation and Innovation in Information Technology, Aachen, Germany (Sept. 1999): 13-18.

Teaching Cases

Joel West and Justin Tan, “Qualcomm in China (A),” Asian Case Research Journal, 6, 2 (Dec. 2002): 85-100. Also published by Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Case 9B01M073, February 2003.

Joel West and Justin Tan, “Qualcomm in China (B),” Asian Case Research Journal, 6, 2 (Dec. 2002): 101-128. Also published by Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Case 9B01M074, February 2003.

Joel West, “Qualcomm 2000: CDMA Technologies,” European Case Clearinghouse, Case 302-069-1, May 2002.

Joel West, “Qualcomm 2001: 3G Strategies,” European Case Clearinghouse, Case 302-070-1, May 2002. Reprinted in Sherrie Bolin, ed., The Standards Edge, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Sheridan Books, 2002, pp. 497-513.

Book Reviews

Joel West, “Winners, Losers & Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology,” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 50, 1 (Feb. 2003).

Joel West, “Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy,” Journal of Product Innovation Management, 16, 5 (Sept. 1999): 504-505.

Joel West, “Waves of Power: The Dynamics of Global Technology Leadership, 1964-2010,” Academy of Management TIM Newsletter, 10, 1 (Fall 1997): 5.

Last Updated April 19, 2015

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