The evolution of alliance structure in China’s mobile telecommunication industry and implications for international standardization

China has become a significant player in the international standardization regime of telecommunications. It is currently attempting international standardization of its indigenous technologies. This paper examines how China’s approach for standardization has evolved in the cases of locally developed 3G and 4G mobile standards: TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE. The authors address the question in terms of alliance formation. They apply network analysis, which visualizes the formation and transformation of alliances. They argue that China’s approach to standardization has evolved from techno-nationalism to techno-globalism. In building, developing, and maintaining alliances, relatively more weight is placed on links with foreign firms over time than on those with local firms, and China is increasingly open to foreign firms to gain their support and cooperation, which is required for international standardization and commercialization of locally-developed standards. This study makes a contribution in that it applies a quantitative method of network analysis and thereby visualizes the formation of alliances in 3G and 4G mobile communication industries.