## 1 Introduction  
The global economy is paying great attention to the fourth industrial revolution to make breakthroughs throughout all industries [1]. Compared to other preceding revolutions initiated by a single technology (e.g., steam, electricity), industry 4.0 embraces a set of technological developments that encourage the creation of new types of products that are totally different and innovative, to meet new market requirements [2]. For example, recent products and services tend to be based on big data, storing a vast amount of data, self-processing, and communicating with other devices and systems [3, 4]. The industry 4.0 paradigm also stimulates the expansion of existing products and the emergence of new smart products through combination and convergence with recent advanced technologies. Accordingly, companies today are pursing innovation as essentials more than ever, to cope with the growing market demands on product diversity and functionality [5]. The development of innovative products with a special focus on the integration and convergence of technologies, however, may face unexpected barriers just before entering the market. This is due in part to the incompatibility of the new products with the extant standards for certification. In many countries around the world, various certification schemes are in operation to ensure the quality and safety of new products. All the new products subject to the certification systems cannot be sold to the public or for particular purposes, unless they pass certain accredited tests. Nowadays, the incompatibility issues of new products are much more evident than before, as the technological entanglement of new product development has dramatically increased. For example, ENERTALK (ENCORED Inc., [[https://encoredtech.com/](https://encoredtech.com/)]([https://encoredtech.com/](https://encoredtech.com/))) is an energy tracking device and service for households, which keeps track of the energy consumption of home appliances and gives useful information such as where the most power is consumed. The new product was made possible by the convergence of various state-of-the-art technologies, and the novel functionality can be attractive to users. However, ahead of the product launch, the company confronted a major obstacle. In terms of certification, ENERTALK belongs to a meter managed by legislation, which means that it is forced to be certified before selling. The problem was that the test methods and certification criteria for the new technological convergence product (NCP) had not been prepared in the existing certification system. In addition, compared to leading the technology development successfully, the company had paid relatively less attention to the fact that the product shall comply with the structure and form set by the statute (e.g., a meter should be of a form that prevents counterfeiting and tampering). This situation is actually not unusual for the companies developing new convergence products using the latest technologies. In the extant certification systems, a variety of industrial standards are offered for relevant products to comply with. In accordance with the test methods and qualification requirements specified in each standard, companies can manage the quality and safety levels of their products to be accepted in the market. However, this does not directly mean that every new product can benefit from the institutional support. As seen in the aforementioned case, compared with the rate at which technologies are converged by enterprises for new product development, the rate at which new standards are developed or the existing ones are revised is relatively slow. Due to the time lag, companies often encounter the situation in which they painfully experience the difficulty in having their NCPs tested and certified, which in turn increases the probability of missing the best time of product launch [6].