This paper develops an inductive theory of the open source software innovation process by focussing on the creation of Freenet, a project aimed at developing a decentralized and anonymous peer-to-peer electronic file sharing network. We are particularly interested in the strategies and processes by which new people join the existing community of software developers, and how they initially contribute code. Analyzing data from multiple sources on the Freenet software development process, we generate the constructs of "joining script",

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This paper considers the relationship between the stocks and flows of learning across levels in an overall organizational learning system. A survey instrument based on the Strategic Learning Assessment Map (SLAM) was administered to 15 individuals representing senior-, middle- and non-management levels from each of 32 organizations, resulting in a total sample of 480 respondents. This research supports the premise that there is a positive relationship between the stocks of learning at all levels and business poibrmance. Furthermore, the proposition that the misalignment of stocks and flows in an overall organizational learning system is negatively associated with business per, finance is also supported.

Abstract—Understanding how to implement software process improvement (SPI) successfully is arguably the most challenging issue facing the SPI field today. The SPI literature contains many case studies of successful companies and descriptions of their SPI programs. However, the research efforts to date are limited and inconclusive and without adequate theoretical and psychometric justification. This paper extends and integrates models from prior research by performing an empirical investigation of the key factors for success in SPI. A quantitative survey of 120 software organizations was designed to test the conceptual model and hypotheses of the study. The results indicate that success depends critically on six organizational factors, which explained more than 50 percent of the variance in the outcome variable. The main contribution of the paper is to increase the understanding of the influence of organizational issues by empirically showing that they are at least as important as technology for succeeding with SPI and, thus, to provide researchers and practitioners with important new insights regarding the critical factors of success in SPI.

Abstract. Open Source Software (OSS) groups experience many benefits and challenges with respect to the core group’s effectiveness. In order to capitalize on the benefits and minimize the challenges, OSS groups must learn not only on the individual level, but also on the group level. OSS groups learn by integrating individual contributions into the group’s product and processes. This paper reports on the characteristics of the learning process in OSS groups. The study utilized an embedded single case study design that observed and analyzed group learning processes in the Apache Web server OSS project. The study used learning opportunity episodes (LOE) as the embedded unit of analysis and developed and utilized three content analytic schemes to describe the characteristics of the learning process and the factors affecting this process. 1

The authors wish to dedicate this article to the memory of their friend and colleague Dr. Paul Pintrich of the University of Michigan. This analysis synthesizes existing research to discuss how teachers’ practice and student learning are affected by perceptions of collective efficacy. Social cognitive theory is employed to explain that the choices teachers make—the ways in which they exercise personal agency—are strongly influenced by collective efficacy beliefs. Although empirically related, teacher and collective efficacy perceptions are theoretically distinct constructs, each having unique effects on educational decisions and student achievement. Our purpose is to advance awareness about perceived collective efficacy and develop a conceptual model to explain the formation and influence of perceived collective efficacy in schools. We also examine the relevance of efficacy beliefs to teachers ’ professional work and outline future research possibilities. Over a quarter century ago, Albert Bandura (1977) introduced the concept of self-efficacy perceptions or “beliefs in one’s capacity to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments ” (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). Since that time, research in many arenas has demonstrated the power of efficacy judgments in human learning, performance, and motivation. For example, efficacy beliefs are related to smoking cessation, adherence to exercise and diet programs, performance in sports, political participation, and academic achievement (Bandura, 1997). The last arena is of particular importance to educators. In the past two decades, researchers have found links between student achievement and three kinds of efficacy beliefs—the self-efficacy judgments of students (cf. Pajares, 1994, 1997), teachers ’ beliefs in their own instructional efficacy (cf. Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy, & Hoy, 1998), and teachers ’ beliefs about the collective efficacy of their school (Goddard, Hoy, & Woolfolk Hoy, 2000). Of the three, perceived collective efficacy is the most recent construct developed and has received the least attention from educational researchers. The purpose of this inquiry is to advance awareness about collective efficacy beliefs and de-

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Abstract. Most research on the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the workplace has focused on companies that adopted ICT after many years of working without it. However, companies that have been “always connected ” may offer different lessons. In this study, we look at how workers at an Internet-era company obtain information they need to do their jobs. We look at both human and documentary sources of information; whether those sources are accessed online or offline; and the impact of type of information source and access on individual performance. Results parallel past research with two significant differences: 1) workers accessed human sources via online channels more frequently than via offline channels, and 2) higher individual performance was associated with online access to human sources rather than offline access to human sources. The findings have implications for theories of knowledge management and uses and effects of technology in organizations. 1

This paper is a part of on-going LINK project 7 and represents a work-in-progress towards building a theoretical framework for future empirical study on organizational knowledge transfer from Danish-based MNCs HQs to their subsidiaries with emphasis of the role of HRM practices in the process. The overall project focuses on two major objectives: (1) to analyze the process of organizational knowledge transfer between headquarter and subsidiary, determine facilitators and constraints of effective knowledge transfer, (2) and to understand the role of HRM practices in the process of effective organizational knowledge transfer. Theoretical framework of this study is based on four major theoretical streams: resourcebased perspective of the firm, theory of multinational enterprises, organizational learning theory, and strategic human resource management literature. Current paper is structured in the following way: at first, organizational knowledge is defined and components are described; next, the process of organizational knowledge transfer and its determinants are identified; finally, existing theoretical concepts are integrated to clear up the “mission” of HRM practices in the process of organizational knowledge transfer. Lastly future research directions are presented.

this paper, we expand upon the direction taken by earlier work of Abecker et al. (1997) with respect to the importance of the object-meta relationship and the use of meta-knowledge to manage (or rather to complete) an OM. We suggest that the focus of the meta-knowledge in an email application, should be on the roles, perspectives, and characteristics of the people in an organization rather than on knowledge description