A step towards the adoption of standards within the UK Ministry of Defence

A review of the literature shows that there is very limited empirical research into the factors that impact the adoption of ISO 10303, the Standard for the Exchange of Product Data (STEP). In particular no study has looked specifically at the adoption of STEP in the defence environment. Therefore, this paper seeks to identify factors that have impacted the adoption of STEP within the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). A multi-case study approach is used to contrast the adoption of STEP, with the adoption of a regional and UK national defence standard within the MoD. This approach was taken to identify the factors that are unique to the adoption of STEP and the factors that are common to the general adoption of standards within the MoD. It is envisaged that these results will contribute towards a better understanding of the factors critical to the adoption of data-exchange standards like STEP.