Editing Standardization (section)

===Effect on firms===
The primary effect of standardization on firms is that the basis of competition is shifted from integrated systems to individual components within the system. Prior to standardization a company's product must span the entire system because individual components from different competitors are incompatible, but after standardization each company can focus on providing an individual component of the system.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shapiro|first=Carl|title=Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy|url=https://archive.org/details/informationrules00shap_752|url-access=limited|date=1999|publisher=Harvard Business School Press|location=Boston, Mass|pages=[https://archive.org/details/informationrules00shap_752/page/n239 232]–233|author2=Hal R. Varian |isbn=9780875848631 }}</ref> When the shift toward competition based on individual components takes place, firms selling tightly integrated systems must quickly shift to a modular approach, supplying other companies with subsystems or components.<ref>{{cite book|last=Christensen|first=Clayton M.|title=The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth|url=https://archive.org/details/innovatorssoluti00chri|url-access=registration|date=2003|publisher=Harvard Business School Press|location=Boston, Mass|page=[https://archive.org/details/innovatorssoluti00chri/page/140 140]|author2=Michael E. Raynor |isbn=9781578518524 }}</ref>