<Li> Written by a corporation, union, trade association, etc . </Li> <P> Standardization / Standardisation has a variety of benefits and drawbacks for firms and consumers participating in the market, and on technology and innovation . </P> <P> 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 . 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 . </P> <P> Standardization has a variety of benefits for consumers, but one of the greatest benefits is enhanced network effects . Standards increase compatibility and interoperability between products, allowing information to be shared within a larger network and attracting more consumers to use the new technology, further enhancing network effects . Other benefits of standardization to consumers are reduced uncertainty, because consumers can be more certain that they are not choosing the wrong product, and reduced lock - in, because the standard makes it more likely that there will be competing products in the space . Consumers may also get the benefit of being able to mix and match components of a system to align with their specific preferences . Once these initial benefits of standardization are realized, further benefits that accrue to consumers as a result of using the standard are driven mostly by the quality of the technologies underlying that standard . </P>

Which of the following is not true about formal (de jure) standards