The success of the Linux operating system has demonstrated the viability of an alternative form of software development – open source software – that challenges traditional assumptions about software markets. Understanding what drives open source developers to participate in open source projects is crucial for assessing the impact of open source software. This article identifies two broad types of motivations that account for their participation in open source projects. The first category includes internal factors such as intrinsic motivation and altruism, and the second category focuses on external rewards such as expected future returns and personal needs. This article also reports the results of a survey administered to open source programmers.

Open source communities have successfully developed a great deal of software although most computer users only use proprietary applications. The usability of open source software is often regarded as one reason for this limited distribution. In this paper we review the existing evidence of the usability of open source software and discuss how the characteristics of open source development influence usability. We describe how existing human-computer interaction techniques can be used to leverage distributed networked communities, of developers and users, to address issues of usability.

We review the literature on Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development and on software development, distributed work and teams more generally to develop a theoretical model to explain the performance of FLOSS teams. The proposed model is based on Hackman’s [34] model of effectiveness of work teams, with coordination theory [52] and collective mind [79] to extend Hackman’s model by elaborating team practices relevant to effectiveness in software development. We propose a set of propositions to guide further research.

An important and intriguing aspect of e-entrepreneurship is the formation of new ventures in the domain of open source software (OSS). Previous research on these ventures has primarily looked at the design of business models, yet has neglected other key questions relating to the management of these firms, despite clear indications that some existing insights on venture management cannot be applied to new ventures in OSS. The purpose of this paper is to explore how three key challenges of venture management -- the liabilities of newness and smallness of start-ups and market entry barriers -- affect new ventures in OSS. Based on empirical data from personal interviews and a large scale survey we find that many of the liabilities that are typically discussed in the entrepreneurship literature are much less of a challenge for new ventures in OSS. Our findings have interesting implications for the emerging theory on e-entrepreneurship, and for entrepreneurs considering to exploit business opportunities in OSS, and more generally business opportunities based on open innovations.

Abstract: Commercial firms increasingly contribute to the development of open source software (OSS). However, a conflict often arises between the requirements of the General Public License to make “derived work ” available, and firms ’ interest to protect their intellectual property embodied in the code. If there are ways to mitigate or solve this conflict, the conditions under which OSS will be an appealing solution to firms become much more general. This paper is the first to provide a quantitative empirical study of this conflict and the ways firms deal with it. I present a study of embedded Linux, based on an online-survey that yielded 268 valid responses. It turns out that firms routinely use various means to protect their developments, while keeping the GPL. Still, they do reveal a considerable share of their code— on average, 49%. Heterogeneity between firms is analyzed using multivariate analysis. I show how the relative importance of various benefits and downsides of revealing determines a firm’s pattern of revealing. An analysis of reported reasons for revealing and of the type of code that is revealed provides further insights into these patterns. Putting the different dimensions of revealing behavior together, I find that consistent patterns of revealing can be identified for different types of firms.

Abstract: The buzzword “open source software ” is gaining in importance and popularity in public, and more and more people are interested in this phenomenon. Yet up until now most of the literature concerning open source has mainly dealt with the technical aspects of the software. The non-technical side, such as discussing the economic aspects in an overall concept, have been neglected thus far. This paper presents a scheme to describe and analyse business relation of the interacting parties involved in the open source process. Additionally business models will be described briefly, divided into two categories: the product-related and service-related. Both business models can be applied to participants in the open source model. The product-related business model deals with the issue of distributing open source products (like Linux and StarOffice). The first model is handled quickly, as much has been written about this in different studies. The service-related business model is handled in greater detail, as the services constitute new business opportunities for companies, particularly also companies today mainly active in the market for proprietary

This paper discusses the meaning of open source in an industrial context. Building a grounded theory from an industry-driven R&D project, our analysis shows that open source in an industrial context is multifaceted. We find that the meaning of open source must be established in the context of the individual organization.

Abstract not found

The link between firms engaging in open source software (OSS) development and the OSS community is established by individual developers. This linkage might entail a principalagent issue due to the developer’s double allegiance to firm and OSS community, and expose the firm to the risk of losing intellectual property. Using both interviews and a large-scale survey, I substantiate the importance of the developer’s role. However, neither interview data nor regression analysis show indications of commercially harmful revealing behavior induced by “Free Software ideology. ” Management, on the other hand, sometimes seems to be overly concerned about openness. I conclude that a more positive stance towards openness will allow firms to better share in the benefits of open innovation processes.

Stern, and Jim Westphal for helpful comments and discussions on earlier drafts of this