One rote claim about the digital age holds that interoperability issues are pervasive and acute. They are.
But they are not new. In my new capacity as assistant coach to an 8 year old football team (my son's, and yes with my physique and background, I coach the line), I have learned that after decades of differences, the youth helmet manufacturers are about to agree on an (ever-elusive) chinstrap standard. It seems Rydell, Adams and Schutt--the big three of youth helmet makers--have agreed on the snap placement points for chinstraps so that chinstraps will now be interoperable between brands.
I know nothing of the respective market shares of the helmet makers, or the competitive status of the market. And I am reasonably sure this is not done in response to regulation or threatened regulation. Nonetheless, it is probably a data point for some future didact. I can see the paper now: "Interoperability of Helmet Chinstraps and Its Implications for Network Industries." Tenure stuff.