The Production of Compatibility: Technical Standards as Collective Goods
运用外部性和公共物品理论分析行业兼容性的决定因素，说明企业个体选择如何影响产品兼容性，并通过案例展示私人和集体决策对兼容性的作用。
This note draws upon the theories of externalities and public goods to analyze the determinants of compatibility in an industry. It shows how choices by individual firms affect compatibility among products. Incompatibility, the coexistence of different technical standards for a basic product, limits the availability of complementary products and repair services. The resulting negative impact of incompatibility on consumers (and market demand) is partially mitigated by several factors, including the availability of low-cost translator devices and the value placed on unique product characteristics lost under standardization. Short case studies illustrate how compatibility can be affected by private and collective decision-making. Copyright 1989 by WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG