可占有性战略、技术柔性与主导设计形成:比较案例研究

Appropriability Strategy, Technology Flexibility and the Emergence of Dominant Designs:A Comparative Case Study

基于企业层面和技术层面双重视角,以激光光盘行业BD、HDDVD和移动操作系统Android、iOS的标准竞争作为比较案例,考察了技术发起者可占有性战略如何影响主导设计形成。研究发现:①技术发起者对技术标准采取更加开放的战略,一方面有助于吸引更多组件生产商,扩大标准联盟规模并提高标准联盟多元性,另一方面,技术发起者鼓励组件生产商参与技术标准开发与商业化,有助于改进技术标准,而技术标准性能改善将进一步吸引更多组件生产商。标准联盟规模与标准联盟多元性之间的自我强化效应最终促进主导设计形成;②技术柔性不仅受到可占有性战略的影响,也受到技术发起者在标准开发过程中所确立的技术规范内在特征的影响。柔性程度较高的技术标准往往能够得到更多改进,从而有助于弥补特定技术标准存在的初始设计缺陷。

Based on the firm-level and technology-level perspectives,the article takes the comparative case study on BD vs.HD DVD in the compact disc industry and Android vs.iOS in mobile operating system industry and investigates how technology sponsors' appropriability strategy affects the emergence of dominant designs.The case analyses show that,on the one hand,the more open strategy by technology sponsors may attract more component providers which contributes to enlarging the size and diversity of standard alliances,thereby increases the likelihood of the emergence of dominant designs;on the other hand,encouraging component providers to participate in the development and commercialization of technology standard may also contribute to the improvements on technology standard,which in turn may attract more component providers.The self-reinforcing effects between size and diversity of standard alliances may eventually lead to the emergence of dominant designs;technology flexibility may not only be influenced by appropriability strategy,but also by the inherent characteristics of technology specifications established by technology sponsors in standard development process.The higher level of technology flexibility means more revisions and improvements,which may compensate for the initial design shortcomings with specific technology standard.