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Among the many new phenomena that have arisen since the divestiture of AT&T in the United States, and the liberalization of information technology markets worldwide, the emergence of consortia explicitly related to the standards setting process. While R&D consortia and user groups have existed for many years, consortia in the standards-setting process possess unique properties. This article develops a classification of the standards-setting consortia and develops a theoretical basis for their emergence. This theory is based on the confluence of two classical economic theories: political theory and the theory of markets where network externalities exist. We also consider the implications of these consortia on the standards-setting process from theoretical and practical perspectives. Over the past five years, the number of consortia in the Information Technology (IT) standards arena has grown significantly. Barry (1992) provides an overview of many of these consortia and their memberships. They have had a profound impact on IT standardization and standards. This article examines these consortia from both a practical and a theoretical viewpoint.This article also considers industrial consortia that are formed explicitly to complement or influence the standards development process. Thus, R&D consortia are outside the scope of this analysis, as are most user groups.' The consortia we will address range from organizations whose primary role is to facilitate the adoption of existing standards through promotional actitivies and conformance testing to those that are actively developing new technologies that are intended to form the basis for either de facto or voluntary consensus standards. 'R&D consortia have been treated elsewhere in the literature (see, e.g., Dimancescu & Botkin, 1986; Evan & Olk, 1988; Smiler & Gibson, 1991 We also develop a taxonomy of IT consortia and examine the theoretical basis for their emergence. Additionally, the impact that a consortium might have on a particular standards development process is examined along with associated policy issues. An Overview of Information Technology ConsortiaTo appreciate current trends in IT standardization, it is necessary to examine the industry that drives that activity. While much has been written on the transformation of the IT industry over the past several years, the two major factors that stand out with respect to the standards process are the advent of the concept of open systems and the democratization of the technology that drives the revolution.Open systems refers to a computing philosophy that allows the interworking and or substitution of any component of an IT system, from the basic hardware through the user.' The emergence of end user computing drove the "democratization" of the IT industry because the operations of the centralized "glass room"3 were demystified. With this change in perception came the need for networks and, subsequently, open systems. This change caused a fundamental shift in the needs and perceptions in the market, and an ev...

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