this report is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation #IIS-0083075, #ITR-0205679 and #ITR-0205724. No endorsement implied. Mark Ackerman at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Les Gasser at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; John Noll at the Santa Clara University; Chris Jensen, Mark Bergman, and Xiaobin Li at the UCI Institute for Software Research, and also Julia Watson at The Ohio State University are collaborators on the research project that produced this chapter. 1 1

In this paper, we present results from the study of a free software development virtual organization, the GNU Enterprise (GNUe) project, and how they develop software in a globally distributed free software development project. In particular, examples of how they mitigate and resolve conflict are presented. Conflict arises over the use of a non-free tool to create GNUe graphic, and over the use of a non-free tool for GNUe documentation. The GNUe developers resolve the conflict using internet relay chat (IRC), threaded email discussions, and community digests. We characterize the GNUe developers as an occupational subculture within the occupational community of free/open source software (F/OSS) developers and show how the beliefs in free software and freedom of choice, and values in cooperative work and community assist GNUe contributors in mitigating and resolving conflict. In addition, we show how, despite fluctuating boundaries of membership in a virtual organization, daily discussions on the GNUe IRC serve to build and perpetuate the global community of GNUe contributors as well as F/OSS developers in general.

Digital Libraries (DLs) is a recent term used to refer to video files used in a shared space. Fox and his colleagues information systems (IS) and services that provide elec- (1995) noted these kinds of conceptual differences when tronic documents—text files, digital sound, digital they observed: video—available in dynamic or archival repositories. Some insist that DLs refer to documentary collections that are accessed via the Internet, while others refer to The phrase ‘‘digital library’ ’ evokes a different impression DLs as any collection of electronic text, sound, or video in each reader. To some it simply suggests computerization of files used in a shared space. There is much at stake in traditional libraries. To others, who have studied library science, these debates. If DLs are narrowly defined, then we lose it calls for carrying out of the functions of libraries in a new the ability to learn about key DL issues from previous way, encompassing new types of information resources; new research, theory, and professional practice in IS and li- approaches to acquisition (especially with more sharing and brarianship. We present a case study of the use of legal subscription services); new methods of storage and preserva-research DLs (LRDLs) in the California Civil and Criminal tion; new approaches to classification and cataloging; new Courts. We extend the concept of organization validity modes of interaction for patrons; more reliance on electronic (Markus & Robey, 1983) in IS to that of organizational systems and networks; and dramatic shifts in intellectual, orgausability

Free/open source software (F/OSS) development projects are growing at a rapid rate. Globally dispersed virtual communities with large groups of software developers contribute time and effort often without pay. One force behind this phenomenon is the Free Software Movement (FSM), a 20 year-old social movement whose purpose is to promote the use of free software instead of proprietary software. We show how the ideology of the FSM influences software development work practices in F/OSS communities and how an occupational community of F/OSS developers has emerged from this movement. We present results from an empirical study of a F/OSS development community, GNUenterprise (GNUe) whose purpose is to build an Enterprise Resource Planning system. We show how the beliefs in freedom and freedom of choice, and the values of cooperative work and community building are manifested in the GNUe norms of informal self-management, immediate acceptance of fellow contributors, and open disclosure.

This paper reviews and extends recent scholarly and popular literature to provide a broad overview of how information technology (IT) impacts organizational characteristics and outcomes. First, based on a review of the literature, we describe two of the principal performance enhancing benefits of IT: information efficiencies and information synergies, and identify five main organizational outcomes of the application of IT that embody these benefits. We then discuss the role that IT plays in moderating the relationship between organizational characteristics including structure, size, learning, culture, and interorganizational relationships and the most strategic outcomes, organizational efficiency and innovation. Throughout we discuss the limitations and possible negative consequences of the use of

This study is part of an ongoing comparative study of various types of open software communities including both free and open source software projects. This study examines how the organizational cultural beliefs and values of a free software virtual organization influence software development processes. It provides examples that illustrate the importance of personal motivation and a sense of working as a team in the perpetuation of a virtual work community. It presents the world of the GNUenterprise.org project as a virtual organizational culture that embodies the beliefs of free software and freedom of choice, and the values of community building and cooperative work. A close study of this project shows how these beliefs and values are manifested in software development methods, artifacts, and tool choice, as well as how dispersed developers cooperate and resolve conflict in a virtual community. Data collection includes the content analysis of Internet Relay Chat archives; kernel cousins archives (summary digests of IRC and mailing list archives); mailing list archives; email interviews; Web site documents and observations; and personal interviews conducted at two open source conferences. Two cases from IRC and mailing list archives of the GNUe virtual community at work are presented for in-depth analyses and comparison. Cultural beliefs and values combined with

GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) is a research program focusing on culture and leadership in 61 nations. National cultures are examined in terms of nine dimensions: performance orientation, future orientation, assertiveness, power distance, humane orientation, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and gender egalitarianism. In a survey of thousands of middle managers in food processing, finance, and telecommunications industries in these countries, GLOBE compares their cultures and attributes of effective leadership. Six global leadership attributes are identified and discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We thank the senior editor on the manuscript, V. Sambamurthy, and the anonymous associate editor and reviewers for their many insightful suggestions on earlier

The emerging work on understanding open source software has strongly argued for the importance of understanding what leads to effectiveness in OSS development, has frequently pointed to ideology and communication as probable factors in effectiveness, and has presented conflicting opinions about the role of trust in effectiveness. For all the discussion of these issues, there has been no comprehensive elaboration of what constitutes OSS ideology, and very little empirical data has been brought to bear on examining antecedents of OSS team effectiveness. This paper develops a framework of the OSS ideology (including specific norms, beliefs, and values) and a theoretical model to show how components of the ideology, combined with trust and communication, impact effectiveness in OSS teams. The research model proposes distinct roles for affective trust, cognitive trust, social communication, and task communication as determinants of OSS team effectiveness. Qualitative and quantitative data are analyzed to evaluate the model. The results suggest that in order for OSS projects to grow into the kind of large successes that prior work has studied, the teams that work on them should foster the norms and values of the larger community and maintain consistent task communication to develop cognitive trust among members. Keywords: Open Source Software, Trust, Ideology, Communication, Virtual Teams ISRL categories: DA01, DA06, DD02 EFFECTIVENESS IN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TEAMS While the practices associated with Open Source Software (OSS) development have been in use for decades, recent years have seen a surge of interest in OSS across developers, businesses, governments, and academic researchers. Since its inception, more than 67,000 projects have been registered on Sourcefo...

Abstract — This paper explains conflict over technological process innovation in cultural terms, drawing primarily on a case study of electric power distribution and strategies to automate its operation. The paper shows how different occupational cultures, “operators” and “engineers, ” use different mental models or cognitive representations of technology that are adaptive to their particular work contexts, but give rise to conflicting evaluations of technological innovation. While these cultural groups may be motivated by a common interest in the successful performance of the technical system, they value different sets of criteria for system design and promising modifications. Despite the apparent contradiction, each perspective is internally consistent and rational. The paper argues that it is beneficial for management to consider these diverse perspectives carefully when planning technological innovation. I.