The Dynamics of Standardization: Three Perspectives on Standards in Organization Studies

This paper suggests that when the phenomenon of standards and standardization is examined from the perspective of organization studies, three aspects stand out: the standardization of organizations, standardization by organizations and standardization as (a form of) organization. Following a compreh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Organization studies Vol. 33; no. 5-6; pp. 613 - 632
Main Authors: Brunsson, Nils, Rasche, Andreas, Seidl, David
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.05.2012
Sage
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects:
dynamics of standards
governance
Institutionenökonomik
Organisationsforschung
Organization studies
Organization theory
regulation
soft law
Standardisierung
Standardization
standardizers
dynamics of standards
standards
standardizers
regulation
soft law
standardization
governance
ISSN:0170-8406, 1741-3044, 1741-3044
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This paper suggests that when the phenomenon of standards and standardization is examined from the perspective of organization studies, three aspects stand out: the standardization of organizations, standardization by organizations and standardization as (a form of) organization. Following a comprehensive overview of existing research in these three areas, we argue that the dynamic aspects of standardization are under-represented in the scholarly discourse. Furthermore, we identify the main types of tension associated with standardization and the dynamics they generate in each of those three areas, and show that, while standards and standardization are typically associated with stability and sameness, they are essentially a dynamic phenomenon. The paper highlights the contributions of this special issue to the topic of standards as a dynamic phenomenon in organization studies and makes suggestions for future research.
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ISSN:0170-8406
1741-3044
1741-3044
DOI:10.1177/0170840612450120