Standardization systems as indicators of mental, cultural and socio-economic states

Standardization processes under the aegis of standards bodies in different geographic domains exhibit similar institutional features, such as the consensus principle in decision making. Nevertheless, among national and regional standardization systems there are significant differences that primarily refer to different attitudes that actors in the respective domains hold towards standardization. Furthermore, these differences in attitude are the result of different cultural, socio-economic and even mental states. Using an institutional approach, this paper argues that the state of standardization system may serve as an indicator of the respective overall mental, cultural and social-economic states in different domains. The authors are indebted to Henk de Vries, Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands Standardization Institute and Tineke Egyedi and Koen Dittrich, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments and suggestions.