Transactions, standardisation and competition: Establishing uniform sizes in the British wire industry c.1880

Abstract

When science could not provide a solution to transaction problems in the British wire industry c.1880, market groups had to negotiate a business solution. This involved converging towards a 'one-size-fits-all' standard: a process requiring compromises and cooperation between competitive firms, and solving coordination failure through state intervention. This paper demonstrates how different groups held different notions of 'ideal' standards depending on the incentives they faced. Reconciling these differences was an institutional, rather than a technological, process. The paper also analyses why, historically, dominant producers cooperated to set industry standards when faced with an imminent lock-in on 'wrong' standards imposed on the industry.standardisation, competition, strategy, transactions, iron and steel, coordination failure, state intervention, mechanical engineering, technology, nineteenth century,

Examining the Role of a Private-Order Institution in Global Trade: The Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association and the Crowning of King Cotton, 1811–1900

“…62 Yet achieving convergence on standards often required negotiation and conciliation between competing interests. 63 As early as 1775, raw cotton in England began to be categorized by its place of growth, such as American, Indian, or West Indian. It is suggested that Joshua Holt attempted the first systematic grading of cotton in England around 1775.…”

New perspectives on not-for-profit financial institutions: Organisational form, performance and governance

“…Faced with the need for substantial capital investment to secure connectivity, reduce duplication and enforce standards, cooperation was required in the banking community to create and operate a network for collective benefit. This was achieved very successfully through an unusual crossborder not-for-profit organisation in which participants co-operated to produce a standardised solution, a topic addressed recently in this journal in a very different context by Velkar (2009). The authors explain how this success came about and address concerns that it has constrained competition and innovation.…”

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