Companies and governments use information technology standards to conduct data exchange, the concept being called Business to Government (B2G) data exchange. Companies use these standards to report their financial and business data to the government and governments collect these data for regulatory purposes. This research analyses two such competing data standards EDIFACT and XBRL in the context of B2G data exchange in India. Both the standards have their own set of supporters (regulators and firms) due to which it is uncertain which standard will become the dominant standard in future. Therefore, it is important for standard supporters to identify and leverage factors that could increase the likelihood of dominance of these standards. This is because, implementation of such data standards firstly requires major changes to be made to the existing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures. Secondly, such decisions are costly and difficult to reverse.
This research focuses on the factors that play a major role in the battle for dominance in the field of B2G data exchange between EDIFACT and XBRL in India. Five phases were described in this research that the standards go through in their lifecycle when battling for dominance. These phases were designed using the framework of Suarez 2004 as a foundation [1]. To analyze the battle and identify the factors in a structured manner, this research was conducted in 3 main steps. Firstly, factors that were relevant in each phase for the battle between XBRL and EDIFACT were identified via an extensive literature search. This has resulted in a comprehensive list of 21 factors. The second step was primary data collection to identify the most important factors that are crucial to XBRL and EDIFACT with the help of a questionnaire. 9 experts in the field of data exchange standards answered the questionnaire. Data collection and data analysis were done using a Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method called the Best Worst Method. The third step was to calculate weights and establish importance of these factors for EDIFACT and XBRL using BWM. In conclusion, 12 factors are identified to be very crucial in the battle for dominance between EDIFACT and XBRL in B2G data exchange in India. These are Availability of a more general standard and Collaborations in phase 1, technical Capabilities and diversity of network in phase 2, regulatory support, awareness of the standard, and, implementation costs and time in phase 3, infrastructure dependency, switching costs, trial-ability and observe-ability, intermediaries and Bandwagon effects in phase 4, and, the factor innovation capabilities in phase 5. Based on the progress that the standards have made till date, and the results of BWM, XBRL has better chances of becoming dominant in future.
The results of this research have significant contributions in research and practical applications of standard battles. This research bridges the gap that exists in the literature between two different aspects of standard dominance – Phases – which look at the evolutionary aspects of standards over time and, Factors – which
consider a single point of time at which factors affect dominance of a standard. By combining these two perspectives, this research provides a way to not only analyse standard dominance battles in a phase-wise approach, but also to identify factors that can play a crucial role in increasing the likelihood of standard dominance in each phase of lifecycle of the battle. By doing so, one could establish chances for dominance of a standard in future, by analyzing historical progress of the standard.
This research also has practical implications for standard supporters and managers of firms who are willing to implement these standards in India. Standard supporters can strengthen their efforts in the direction of the factors identified in this research to promote the adoption of the standard they support.
Managers of firms can also benefit from this research as it would help them make informed decisions about choosing the standard suitable for their organization. For example, they can see where their firms stand with regards to the factors identified in this research to improve their chances of successfully implementing their standard of interest by leveraging these factors. This is important because, with new innovations evolving rapidly in the field of ICT, implementation of ICT standards is no more seen as a tool for achieving business objectives, but has become a strategic choice and a part of the overall business strategy of the companies.
Future recommendations of this research include expanding the scope to analyze this battle in the field of B2B (business to business) data exchange. Another interesting area to study in future would be to explore the fragmentation of data exchange standards in the B2B and B2G sectors.