Promoting e-business through vertical IS standards: lessons from the US home mortgage industry

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511493249.006

5 - Promoting e-business through vertical IS standards: lessons from the US home mortgage industry

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009

Charles W. Steinfield ,

Rolf T. Wigand ,

M. Lynne Markus and

Gabe Minton

Edited by

Shane Greenstein and

Victor Stango

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Charles W. Steinfield: Affiliation:
Professor Department of Telecommmunication, Information Studies, and Media Michigan State University
Rolf T. Wigand: Affiliation:
Maulden-Entergy Chair and Distinguished Professor of Information Science and Management University of Arkansas Little Rock
M. Lynne Markus: Affiliation:
Sr. Professor of Information Management Bentley College
Gabe Minton: Affiliation:
Senior Director of Industry Technology Mortgage Bankers Association of America
Shane Greenstein: Affiliation:
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Victor Stango: Affiliation:
Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College

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Summary

Abstract

Vertical information systems (IS) standards are designed to promote communication and coordination among the organizations comprising a particular industry sector. The authors present a case study of the emergence of vertical IS standards in the US home mortgage industry to provide insights into three processes: (1) the way the standardization process is structured to facilitate participation and consensus, (2) the approaches used to promote adoption of open and transparent standards, and (3) the steps taken to ensure the ongoing maintenance and integrity of the standards. Interviews with participants involved with the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, as well as meeting observations, inform the authors' case analysis. The findings emphasize the importance of company and individual incentives to contribute to the process, the formal and informal governance mechanisms used to minimize conflict and develop consensus, and the inclusive and proactive policies regarding membership. Also addressed are the limited scope of standardization activities, an explicit intellectual property rights policy, and efforts to institutionalize the entire standardization process into a formal structure. Discussing implications for theory and practice, the authors pay specific attention to recommendations for policymakers regarding their potential role in the promotion of vertical IS standards development.

Introduction

Information systems (IS) standards – standardized business documents, data definitions, and business processes – have been seen as key to effective interorganizational commerce since the 1980s, when electronic data interchange (EDI) became the technology of choice for business-to-business coordination.

Type: Chapter
Information: Standards and Public Policy , pp. 160 - 207

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493249.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2006

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