ETSI as a case study of organizational resilience in standard setting: An empirical inquiry into strategies that ensure thriving despite organizational challenges

This paper presents empirical study of the organizational resilience strategies of standards developing organizations (SDOs). The selection of ETSI as a case study for this purpose was motivated by the rapid evolution of telecommunication innovations, which necessitates resilience of SDOs in the field. Moreover, ETSI is a particularly interesting case study because of its legal status, global impact, and a history of external criticism directed at the organization. Based on theoretical considerations and previous empirical research, it was expected that the organizational resilience strategies used by ETSI differ with regards to two dimensions: disturbance anticipation (proactive and reactive strategies); and the locus of the strategic effort (internal or external to the organization). Deductive content analysis was applied to 12 semi-structured interviews with individuals who participate in standard setting activities within ETSI, resulting in a 2x2 type of taxonomy in line with the expectations. The identified 29 categories were thus categorized into four discrete clusters of resilience strategies: proactive external (5), proactive internal (9), reactive external (5) and reactive internal (10) strategies. The discussion reflects on the historical organizational challenges and critical junctions, the strategies reported in response to them, and how they might have contributed to continued thriving of ETSI.