Digital Standardization and Interoperability in BRICS Digital Ecosystems

This study examines the role of digital standardization in developing functional interoperability within the BRICS digital ecosystem. A mixed-methods design combines qualitative analysis of national standardization repositories with comparative statistical tests of the World Bank Digital Adoption Index and a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) model based on the United Nations E-Government Development Index, covering BRICS and selected European Union economies. The qualitative analysis identifies distinct national standardization trajectories, ranging from international alignment to autonomous standard setting, and examines institutional, regulatory, and technological barriers to interoperability. The quantitative results are sectorally uneven: improvements in business and household digital adoption are consistent with broader catch-up processes, whereas a BRICS-specific advantage is observed only in digital government, where the DiD estimates indicate an additional improvement following the intensification of BRICS digital cooperation in 2015. These estimates reflect an association rather than a definitive causal effect. The study conceptualizes digital standards as institutional mechanisms of functional interoperability that can facilitate cross-border digital coordination without complete regulatory harmonization, and suggests that BRICS cooperation may benefit most from interoperability-oriented measures that prioritize public-sector services.