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This paper examines the hypothesis that it may be possible for individual actors in a marketplace to drive the adoption of particular privacy and security standards. It aims to explore the diffusion of privacy and security technologies in the marketplace. Using HTTPS, Two-Factor Authentication, and End-to-End Encryption as case studies, it tries to ascertain which factors are responsible for successful diffusion which improves the privacy of a large number of users. Lastly, it explores whether the FTC may view a widely diffused standard as a necessary security feature for all actors in a particular industry. Based on the case studies chosen, the paper concludes that while single actors/groups often do drive the adoption of a standard, they tend to be significant players in the industry or otherwise well positioned to drive adoption and diffusion. The openness of a new standard can also contribute significantly to its success. When a privacy standard becomes industry dominant on account of a major actor, the cost to other market participants appears not to affect its diffusion. A further conclusion is that diffusion is also easiest in consumer facing products when it involves little to no inconvenience to consumers, and is carried out at the back end, yet results in tangible and visible benefits to consumers, who can then question why other actors in that space are not implementing it. Actors who do not adopt the standard may also potentially face reputational risks on account of non-implementation, and lose out on market share.
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This content will become publicly available on October 27, 2026
Shaping Markets, Shifting Burdens: Collective Opportunism and Asymmetrical Market-Shaping
Recent years have seen growing interest in market-shaping – the intentional efforts of firms, consumers, governments, and nonprofits to transform, disrupt, or maintain market systems. However, the ‘dark side’ of market shaping – its strategic use to entrench power and shift burdens onto others – remains underexplored. This paper examines the historical case of U.S. beverage container production (1950–1990) using institutional work as a theoretical lens. Analyzing actions taken by container and beverage manufacturers, industry associations, activists, media, and government, we find industry actors collaboratively sustained dominance by simultaneously making and breaking institutions, with little regard for broader environmental and societal consequences. These shaping efforts were systemic, evolving, and increasingly channeled through specialized, strategically focused industry associations. In contrast, opposing actors lacked comparable coordination and influence. We contribute to market-shaping literature and extend critical macromarketing debates by foregrounding asymmetrical shaping and the urgent need to evaluate such strategies through normative frameworks that consider ecological and social limits.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2147334
- PAR ID:
- 10649629
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Macromarketing
- ISSN:
- 0276-1467
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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