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Do so wa e i ms collabo a e o compe e? A model o coope i ion in communi y-
ini ia ed OSS p ojec s
© he Au ho s, 2019.
Published e sion
Nguyen-Duc, Anh; C uzes, Daniela S.; Te je, Sna by; Ab ahamsson, Pekka
Nguyen-Duc, A., C uzes, D. S., Te je, S., & Ab ahamsson, P. (2019). Do so wa e i ms collabo a e
o compe e? A model o coope i ion in communi y-ini ia ed OSS p ojec s. e-In o ma ica, 13(1),
37-62. h ps://doi.o g/10.5277/e-In 190102
2019
e-In o ma ica So wa e Enginee ing Jou nal, Volume 13, Issue 1, 2019, pages: 37–62, DOI 10.5277/e-In 190102
Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e?
A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed
OSS P ojec s
Anh Nguyen-Duc∗, Daniela S. C uzes∗∗ , Sna by Te je∗∗∗, Pekka Ab ahamsson∗∗∗∗
∗Business school, Uni e si y o Sou h Eas e n No way
∗∗ Sin e Digi al
∗∗∗ Genus AS
∗∗∗∗ Uni e si y o Jy äskylä
[email p o ec ed], [email p o ec ed], [email p o ec ed],
[email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
Backg ound:
An inc easing numbe o comme cial i ms a e pa icipa ing in Open Sou ce So wa e
(OSS) p ojec s o educe hei de elopmen cos and inc ease echnical inno a i eness. When
collabo a ing wi h o he i ms whose sough alues a e con lic s o in e es s, i ms may beha e
uncoope a i ely leading o ha m ul impac s on he common goal.
Aim: This s udy explo es how so wa e i ms bo h collabo a e and compe e in OSS p ojec s.
Me hod: We adop ed a mixed esea ch me hod on h ee OSS p ojec s.
Resul :
We ound ha comme cial i ms pa icipa ing in communi y-ini ia ed OSS p ojec s
collabo a e in a ious ways ac oss he o ganiza ional bounda ies. While mos o i ms con ibu e
li le, a small numbe o i ms ha a e e y ac i e and accoun o la ge p opo ions o con ibu ions.
We p oposed a concep ual model o explain o coope i ion among so wa e i ms in OSS p ojec s.
The model shows wo aspec s o coope i ion can be managed a he same ime based on i m
ga ekeepe s.
Conclusion:
Fi ms need o ope a ionalize hei coope i ion s a egies o maximize alue gained
om pa icipa ing in OSS p ojec s.
Keywo ds:
COSS, coope i ion, collabo a ion, compe i ion, open sou ce so wa e, case
s udy
1. In oduc ion
Inc easingly, so wa e p oduc s a e no longe
de eloped solely in-house, bu in a dis-
ibu ed se ing, whe e de elope s collabo a e
wi h “dis ibu ed collabo a o s” beyond hei
i ms’ bounda y [1, 2]. This phenomenon in-
cludes open sou ce so wa e (OSS) communi-
ies, c owd-sou cing, and so wa e ecosys ems
(SECO). This di e s om adi ional ou sou c-
ing echniques in ha ini ia ing ac o s do no
necessa ily own he so wa e de eloped by con-
ibu ing ac o s and do no hi e he con ibu ing
ac o s. Communi y-ini ia ed OSS p ojec s a e an
example o he con ex in which ac o s coexis
and coe ol e.
F om i ms’ pe spec i e, i is bene icial o he
de elopmen o so wa e p oduc s whose scopes
exceeds hei own capabili ies by le e aging ex-
e nal esou ces, explo ing oppo uni ies o en e
new ma ke s [3], pe o ming an inside-ou p o-
cess [4], and employing s a egic ec ui men s
[5]. F om communi ies’ pe spec i e, he pa ic-
ipa ion in such en i onmen p obably causes
i ms o open up i s success ul p oduc s and
p oduc lines o unc ional ex ensions by ex-
e nal de elope s [1]. Ins ead o being exclusi e
and localizing p oduc de elopmen , i ms a e
Submi ed: 1 May 2018; Re ised: 24 June 2018; Accep ed: 31 July 2018; A ailable online: 1 Oc obe 2018
38 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
explo ing di e en ways o in i e con ibu ions
om ex e nal ac o s wi hou e ealing co e ech-
nology, business alue and cus ome ela ion-
ships [6].
Be o e he ull po en ial ad an ages o open
sou cing a e le e aged, comme cial i ms need
o conside se e al conce ns. A he o ganiza-
ional le el, he i m’s bene i and he commu-
ni y goals a e no always he same [7]. Pa ici-
pa ion o comme cial i ms in OSS p ojec s wi h
hei di e se mo i a ions and business s a e-
gies migh in oduce a iance, and some imes
con lic s in p ojec e olu ion [3]. Exis ing e-
sea ch on OSS highligh s he ole o collabo-
a ion wi h ex ensi e esea ch on communica-
ion and coo dina ion p ac ices, pa e ns and
lessons lea n om OSS communi ies [8
–
11]. How-
e e , he e seems o be a less esea ch conce ns
abou he con lic s among i ms ega ding o
hei s a egic de elopmen . Fi ms a emp o
gain compe i i e ad an ages om hei pa ic-
ipa ion in OSS p ojec s [12]. When he e oc-
cu misma ches in e m o in e es s and objec-
i es, i ms may beha e uncoope a i ely in o -
de o p e en o he s om achie ing hei goals
[13]. The con lic occu s no only a he man-
age ial le el, such as p ojec go e nance [14],
bu also a he ope a ional le el, such as code
con ibu ion, bug ixes, and equi emen elici a-
ion [3,15–17].
Coope i ion, as a business phenomenon, is
abou collabo a ing and handling a i m’s com-
pe i i e ad an ages when pa icipa ing in OSS
p ojec s [18,19]. In a coope i i e en i onmen ,
i ms coope a e wi h each o he o each a highe
alue c ea ion compa ed o he alue c ea ed
wi hou he in e ac ion. The basic assump ion
o coope i i e ela ionships is ha all ac i i ies
should aim a he es ablishmen o a bene icial
pa ne ship wi h o he i ms, including pa ne s
who may be conside ed as a kind o compe i-
o [20]. Since coope i ion applies o in e - i m
ela ionships, OSS p ojec o e s an ideal con-
ex o unde s anding he phenomenon among
i ms ha de elop and u ilize a common so wa e
codebase [16].
Empi ical esea ch on coope i ion is sca ce,
especially s udies in So wa e Enginee ing (SE)
and a he o ganiza ional le el [13]. Resea ch in
his a ea is p obably hidden by he inconsis en
ea men o he c oss-disciplina y na u es o
coope a ion and compe i ion, and hei ela ed
cons uc s. Ou esea ch objec i e is o explo e
how i ms in e ac and manage he phenomenon
o coope i ion in OSS p ojec s. To bes o ou
knowledge, he e exis s only a ew s udies ha
examine he phenomenon o coope i ion among
comme cial i ms in OSS p ojec s [3,13,15,17].
Resea ch ques ions (RQs) we e de i ed om his
esea ch objec i e. Fi s ly, we aimed a unde -
s anding he basic ounda ion on i m pa icipa-
ion in OSS p ojec s. Based on his knowledge,
we explo ed u he heo e ical elemen s o coope-
i ion. We use he e he wo d “coope i i ely” as
an ad e b o coope i ion:
–
RQ1: How do comme cial i ms pa icipa e
in communi y-ini ia ed OSS p ojec s?
–
RQ2: How do comme cial i ms manage
coope i ion wi h o he i ms in such con ex ?
Ou con ibu ions a e wo olds, i s ly we po -
ayed he si ua ions whe e bo h compe i ion
and collabo a ion occu s in OSS p ojec s. Con-
side ing he body o knowledge abou i m pa ic-
ipa ion in OSS p ojec s, ou wo k con i ms some
pa e ns and also ex ends hem by explo ing he
i m awa eness, coope i ion and hei an eceden
ac o s. Adop ing a mixed-me hod esea ch, we
quan i a i ely examine o ganiza ional in e ac-
ion pa e ns and quali a i ely explo e how i ms
pe cei e and employ coope i ion s a egies. Sec-
ondly, we heo ize cons uc s o coope i ion by
p oposing a Coope i ion in Open Sou ce So wa e
(COSS) model. P e ious s udies ha men ion he
e m “coope i ion” [3,15], do no in es iga e he
cons uc s unde his phenomenon. Hence, o ou
bes knowledge, his is among he i s s udies
in SE in es iga ing his concep . The p oposed
model e eals building blocks o coope i ion in
OSS i ms ne wo k and i s ela ionship o conse-
quen ac o s.
The s udy is o ganized as ollows: Sec ion 2
p esen s a backg ound abou coope i ion and
i m pa icipa ion in OSS p ojec s. Sec ion 3
desc ibes ou esea ch me hodology, Sec ion 4
p esen s ou indings, and Sec ion 5 discusses he
indings. Finally, Sec ion 6 concludes he pape .
Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 39
2. Backg ound and ela ed wo k
2.1. The phenomenon o coope i ion
The o igin o coope i ion is om business e-
sea ch when in es iga ing buye and selle ela-
ionships wi hin a business ne wo k [18,19]. The
ade-o be ween coope a ion and compe i ion
is emphasized as a mean o c ea ing a p og ess
among ac o s in ol ed in long- e m ela ion-
ships. Coope i ion concep ualizes he in e ac ion
among i ms in ela ion o hei s a egic de el-
opmen [18, 19]. Dagnino e al. de ined coope-
i ion as “a kind o in e - i m s a egy which
consen s he compe ing i ms in ol ed o manage
a pa ially con e gen in e es and goal s uc u e
and o c ea e alue by means o coope i i e ad-
an age” [21]. The au ho s p oposed wo o ms
o coope i ion, a dyadic coope i ion (conce ns
among wo- i m ela ionships) and a ne wo k
coope i ion (in ol ing mo e han wo i ms, i.e.
alue chain) [21]. Beng sson a gued ha a dyadic
ela ionship is a pa adox ha eme ges when wo
i ms coope a e in some ac i i ies, such as in
a s a egic alliance, and a he same ime com-
pe e wi h each o he in o he ac i i ies [19]. I
means ha ac o s wi hin a i m need o be di-
ided o ake cha ge o ei he collabo a ion o
compe i ion.
Coope i ion can occu in a mo e complex
o m, wi h a ne wo k o i ms. The coope i-
ion s a egy can be applied a a mic o le el
(among unc ional and di isional depa men s
in a i m), a meso le el (among i ms in he
same indus y, be ween endo and supplie )
and a mac o le el (among clus e o i ms o
i ms ac oss indus ies) [21]. Li e a u e also dis-
cusses some an eceden ac o s ela ing o coope-
i ion a he mic o le el, such as sha ed i-
sion, pe cei ed us and pe cei ed bene i s [22].
A s udy poin s ou some possible impac s o
coope i ion on knowledge sha ing and job/ ask
e ec i eness [22]. By selec ing a highly inno-
a i e OSS p ojec ha con ibu es o i ms’
s a egic alues, we illus a e dependencies be-
ween compe i o s due o s uc u al condi ions,
why and how compe i o s coope a e.
2.2. Collabo a ion in OSS p ojec s
Collabo a ion is an aspec o coope i ion ha
is much explo ed in OSS p ojec s. I is com-
mon o look a OSS p ojec s’ a chi es o e eal
communica ion, collabo a ion and coo dina ion
app oaches, equency, pa e ns and bes p ac-
ices a di e en le el o analysis [2,23
–
31]. Ea ly
esea ch has obse ed an onion-like s uc u e
o con ibu ion in OSS p ojec s [24
–
27]. A he
cen e o he onion a e he co e de elope s, who
con ibu e mos o he code and ake ca e o
he design and e olu ion o he p ojec . In he
nex ing ou a e he co-de elope s who submi
pa ches (e.g. bug ixes), which a e e iewed and
checked in by co e de elope s [28]. Fu he ou
a e he ac i e use s who do no con ibu e code
bu p o ide use-cases and bug- epo s as well
as es ing new eleases. The awa eness o peo-
ple and ac i i ies h ough OSS social s uc u es
enhances collabo a ion e ec i eness and ensu es
ha li le e o is was ed in duplica e wo k [30].
A la ge amoun o s udies in es iga es he com-
bina ion o social and echnical aspec s o OSS
p ojec s, by analyzing a social ne wo k c ea ed
by con ibu o s who wo k and communica e in
he same se o iles [32
–
35]. Bi d e al. [34]
showed ha a socio- echnical ne wo k o so -
wa e modules and de elope s is able o p edic
so wa e ailu e p oneness wi h g ea e accu acy
han o he p edic ion me hods. Wol e al. [35]
o med a de elope - ask ne wo k o explo e he
impac o de elope communica ion on so wa e
build in eg a ion ail. A common assump ion o
hese s udies is ha de elope s beha e ega dless
o hei comme cial a ilia ions in OSS p ojec s,
indica ing by unweigh ed analysis app oaches
when o mula ing he social ne wo ks. In case
a signi ican numbe o de elope s om i ms
con ibu es o he p ojec , o ganiza ional ea-
u es, such as i ms’ s a egies and go e nance
mechanism migh in luence he communica ion
s uc u es o he OSS p ojec s. In his wo k, we
will use he social ne wo k analysis (SNA) o in-
es iga e in e ac ion pa e ns, i.e. collabo a ion
and compe i ion in OSS p ojec s. While we also
o m he de elope - ask-de elope ne wo k, he
40 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
di e ence is ha he ela ionship is analyzed a
i m le el.
2.3. Collabo a ion in OSS p ojec s
A heo e ical model links heo e ical elemen s
in a ce ain seman ic manne , i.e. a causal ela-
ionship, helping o design da a collec ion and
analysis. Li e a u e e eals ac o s ha lead o
he occu ence o collabo a ion and compe i ion
(an eceden ac o s), and hei impac on i ms’
ou comes (consequen ac o s). I is no ed ha
we do no aim o model comple eness, bu o
a ounda ion o u he in es iga ion. The u he
in es iga ion would disco e which ac o s alid
in he con ex o so wa e indus y, pa icula ly
OSS p ojec s.
As seen in Figu e 1, coope i ion is he s ud-
ied cons uc , and i is linked o i s an eceden
ac o s, i.e. s uc u al condi ion, s a egic ision,
us and pe cei ed bene i s [22,36–41].
S a egic ision
: sha ing s a egic ision is
essen ial o coope a ion a eam le el [22] [35],
as he ision e lec s impo an ag eemen s o
belie s and assump ions ha consequen ly b ing
in e nal s abili y o he coope a i e a i ude [36].
A he s a egic le el, ision ypically is abou he
i m’s alue and business de elopmen . Sha ed
ision d aws a oadmap o he o ganiza ion o
i m, se ing he p io i ies o hei eam plan-
ning and implying i s c i ical de e minan ole
in lessening malign compe i ion [22]. The ision
can be sha ed ia mee ings o wo kshop wi h
high-le el manage s.
T us
: is conside ed as a ela ionship o e-
liance among membe s o a eam o an o gani-
za ion. T us is de ined as “ he willingness o
a pa y o be ulne able o he ac ions o an-
o he pa y based on he expec a ion ha he
o he will pe o m a pa icula ac ion impo -
an o he us o , i espec i e o he abili y o
moni o o con ol ha o he pa y?” [42]. The
impo ance o us in he success o in e pe -
sonal ela ionships is epo ed p e iously in OSS
p ojec s [37, 38]. Mo eo e , us is he key o
ans o ming OSS as a communi y o indi idual
de elope s, o OSS as a communi y o i ms [39].
The coope a ion ha cap u es he le el o coo -
dina ed ac ions be ween eam membe s in hei
e o s o achie e mu ual goals canno be ealized
wi hou us among he membe s.
Pe cei ed bene i
: on one hand, pe cei ed
bene i s a e associa ed wi h a coope a i e a -
i ude, in ol ing compa ible in e es s as com-
mon bene i s can mo i a e collabo a ion, le e age
eam o pe son’s capabili ies o ob aining such
bene i [40]. In OSS p ojec s, pe cei ed bene i s
o pa icipa ing in he communi ies a e educed
de elopmen cos , communi y knowledge, and
educed main enance cos . On he o he hand,
pe cei ed bene i is also associa ed wi h a com-
pe i i e a i ude. Indi iduals a e likely o pu -
sue hei own objec i e a he expense o e all
eam’s goal [41]. This could be applicable o
o ganiza ion in an ecosys ems o supply chains.
The mo e bene i a i m pe cei e o ob aining
a con lic ing a i ac o esou ce, he mo e hey
likely o compe e o e he esou ce [22].
In ou heo e ical amewo k, coope i ion is
also associa ed o i s consequen ac o s, i.e.
knowledge sha ing and ask e ec i eness [22,43].
Knowledge sha ing
a o ganiza ional le -
els is seen as sha ing o o ganiza ional expe ience
and knowledge, i.e. echnical know-how, domain
expe ise, wo k p ac ice, e c wi h o he collabo a-
o s, and hence inc easing he o e all knowledge
in he join p ojec [22]. As knowledge is a c i ical
sou ce o compe i i eness, managing knowledge
sha ing among membe s o an o ganiza ion plays
a p ominen ole in sus ainable compe i i e ad-
an age [43].
Task e ec i eness
in eam collabo a ion
ep esen s indi iduals’ pe cei ed capaci y o con-
duc ing collabo a i e asks, whe eas knowledge
sha ing enhances he abili y o collabo a o ’s
knowledge exchange.
3. Resea ch app oach
3.1. S udy design
We conduc ed his wo k by using a wo-phase
mul iple-case s udy design [44]. The phases in
he esea ch occu due o he disc e e con inua-
ion o ou in e nal esea ch p ojec . Compa ed

Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 41
Figu e 1. A heo e ical amewo k o coope i ion (adap ed om [22])
o desc ip i e and con i ma i e case s udies, ex-
plo a o y case s udies a e sui able o he i s
phase esea ch as we would like o disco e he
phenomenon o coope i ion, whe he i exis s,
in which o m and i s ela ionship o i s con-
ex se ing. This phase was done as a pa o
a mas e hesis. In he second phase, we con-
duc ed a desc ip i e s udy on desc ibing collab-
o a ion, compe i ion in he selec ed cases. In
he hi d phase, we ound ano he case s udy
o con i m he quali a i e indings. This s ep
was conduc ed o alida e wha we obse ed
in he i s wo cases. We ollowed he guide-
line by Runeson and Hös [45] o execu e case
s udy, including case selec ion, da a collec ion
and analysis.
Case selec ion is no s aigh o wa d. The e
a e abundan OSS p ojec s a ailable; many
o hem a e abandoned o indi idual e o s.
A b ains o m session was conduc ed among he
pape ’s au ho s o decide case selec ion c i e ia
as below:
–
Comme cial pa icipa ion: he OSS p ojec
should ha e mul iple comme cial i ms pa -
icipa ing in he de elopmen . In addi ion,
he e mus be an adequa e way o iden i y
hem.
–
Success ul and on-going: he OSS p ojec
mus be success ul and on-going. This implies
ha he p ojec a ac s de elope s and he
de elopmen o he so wa e is p og essing.
–
Ac i e p ojec s wi h many ac i i ies: he OSS
p ojec mus ha e a high le el o communica-
ion and code commi s in he p ojec , showing
by ich da a a chi e.
By e iewing li e a u e on OSS p ojec s in
SE, we lea n se e al OSS p ojec s ha we e com-
monly in es iga ed in SE esea ch, such as Apache,
Mozilla, Eclipse and Linux [46]. The selec ed cases
should no only sa is y he selec ion c i e ia, bu
also no el in SE esea ch. We we e sugges ed o
Wi esha k by a colleague who pa icipa ed in he
p ojec . Many easons con ibu ed o his choice.
Fi s ly, he con ibu o lis and communi y ac i -
i y e ealed high pa icipa ion and in ol emen
o comme cial companies. Wi esha k is a ypical
ins ance o a OSS p ojec . The p ojec uses so -
wa e in o malisms o de elopmen collabo a ion,
he de elope s a e a mix o i m-paid de elope s
and olun ee s, and he so wa e is licensed unde
he GNU Gene al Public License (GNU GPL).
Wi esha k is also a e y success ul on-going OSS
p ojec , wi h a high numbe o con ibu o s and
ac i e use s, consis en ly pushing de elopmen
o wa d. Ha ing selec ed Wi esha k as he i s
case, we p oceeded o ind and selec he second
case o ou s udy. To be able o do a li e al
eplica ion, he second case should ha e simila
p ope ies as he i s case. A e a long pe iod o
sea ching, we ended up wi h h ee p omising cases
ha ma ched he speci ica ions: Ho de, Samba
and Wine. F om he compa ison i was e iden
ha Samba was e y simila o Wi esha k, i.e.
bo h p ojec swe e licensedunde GNUGPL,bo h
p ojec s had many i ms pa icipa ing, and hey
bo h had a yea ly con e ence whe e de elope s
cane oge he o discuss u he de elopmen and
socialize. We planned o ha e he hi d case o
alida e he quali a i e indings om Wi esha k
and Samba. Among se e al OSS p ojec s we
42 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
Figu e 2. O e iew o he esea ch p ocess
a emp ed o con ac , Boo s ap de elope s we e
he one ag eed o pa icipa e in he s udy.
The esea ch p ocess is desc ibed in Figu e 2.
A he p e-s udy phase, li e a u e e iew and
b ains o ming wi h expe s we e done o come up
wi h esea ch objec i e and s udy design. A he
explo a o y and desc ip i e phase, he i s wo
cases we e in es iga ed o unde s anding how
comme cial i ms pa icipa ed in OSS p ojec s, i
he phenomenon coope i ion exis s and in which
o m. As he explo a i e na u e o his phase,
a wide ange o opics was disco e ed, such as
collabo a ion pa e ns, i m awa eness, compe i-
ion, code p ac ices, e c. The da a we e ex ac ed
om p ojec a chi e, i.e mailing lis s, bug ack-
ing sys em and code eposi o y. In his phase, we
also collec ed quali a i e da a, i.e. in e iewing
ele an s akeholde s o explo e in-dep h phe-
nomenon obse ed om he quan i a i e da a.
A he con i ma i e phase, we conduc ed some
in e iews o con i m and o alida e he obse -
a ion om he i s wo cases.
3.2. Case desc ip ion
Wi esha k
1
is an OSS oolki de eloped by a com-
muni y o ne wo king expe s a ound he wo ld
unde he GNU Gene al Public License. The
p ojec is o icially ope a ed unde he Wi esha k
name since May 2006. Ou o he 802 de elope s
lis ed in Wi esha k con ibu o lis , 342 we e
classi ied as i m-paid de elope s (43%). The e-
maining 460 de elope s (57%) we e classi ied as
olun ee ing de elope s. The i m-paid con ibu-
ions come om 228 i ms.
Samba
2
is an OSS sui e ha p o ides ile,
p in and au hen ica ion se ices o all clien s
using he SMB/CIFS p o ocol. Samba is licensed
unde he GNU Gene al Public License, and
he Samba p ojec is a membe o he So wa e
F eedom Conse ancy. In Samba, 316 de elope s
we e e alua ed, whe e 182 (57%) o hem we e
classi ied as i m-paid de elope s. The con ibu-
ions come om 45 i ms. Communica ion and
collabo a ion be ween de elope s in he Wi e-
sha k and Samba communi y mainly occu in
wo places; he de elope mailing lis and he
bug acking sys em.
La e , a hi d OSS p ojec was selec ed as
a mo e ecen p ojec o p o ide complemen-
a y quali a i e da a. Boo s ap
3
is a on end
Ja asc ip -based amewo k o de eloping e-
sponsi e, mobile i s p ojec s on he web. The
p ojec was eleased as an OSS p ojec since 2011
unde MIT license. Boo s ap we e con ibu ed
by la ge i ms, such as Twi e and Gi Hub. A
he ime he esea ch was conduc ed, Boo s ap
has been he mos -s a ed p ojec on Gi Hub,
wi h o e 90.000 s a s and mo e han 38.000 o ks.
The communica ion in Boo s ap was done ia
1h ps://www.wi esha k.o g
2h ps://www.samba.o g
3h p://ge boo s ap.com
Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 43
many channels, i.e. S ackO e low, Slack, and
Gi Hub acke . Sou ce code and issue manage-
men was done ia Gi Hub.
3.3. Da a collec ion
3.3.1. Quan i a i e da a
The main sou ce o quan i a i e da a is om
mailing lis s, code and issue eposi o ies, as hey
a e common da a sou ces when s udying OSS
[8,15,23,47]. We collec ed h ee ypes o da a,
namely de elope p o ile, i m p o ile and commu-
nica ion da a. The de elope p o ile was ound
om p ojec public pages, such as p ojec wiki
and con luence page. Basic in o ma ion, like de-
elope s’ email add esses and imes amp o ile
commi s we e ex ac ed om JIRA and GIT.
F om de elope s’ p o iles, we we e also able o
iden i y he lis o i ms in a OSS p ojec . An
in i a ion o in e iew was sen in a snowballing
manne . A e i m-paid de elope s accep ed ou
in i a ion o in e iew, basic in o ma ion abou
he i m was equi ed by us. Besides, i m in o -
ma ion was also collec ed om online sou ces,
such as company websi e, and published ma e i-
als. The communica ion da a was collec ed om
wo main sou ces, namely issue acking sys em
and mailing lis . These sou ces con ained de ailed
in o ma ion abou e en s and ac i i ies ha had
occu ed in he communi ies se e al yea s back
in ime. Table 1 gi es an o e iew o when he
sou ces we e i s used and how many en ies
hey ha e oday in Wi esha k and Samba.
3.3.2. Iden i ica ion o i m pa icipa ion
In o ma ion whe he a pa icipan is a i m-paid
o olun ee de elope , is no gene ally a ail-
able in OSS p ojec s. Consequen ly, we needed
o come up wi h a classi ica ion echnique o
iden i y i ms’ pa icipa ion. The app oach has
been success ully used in a p e ious s udy [48].
The ollowing in o ma ion was e alua ed in he
p ocess o classi ying he de elope s:
–
Cu en s a us in he communi y: ac i e o
no any mo e.
–
Email domain: The email domain used by
a de elope can e eal i m associa ion. We
ega d i as unlikely ha a de elope use
a job email o pa icipa e in an OSS p ojec
i i is no ela ed o he job as a paid de-
elope . This measu e is he mos dis inc i e
classi ica ion en i y.
–
Email signa u e: Some de elope s ha e hei
employmen i m name as pa o hei email
signa u e, which hey use when pos ing o
he mailing lis o bug acke .
–
Pe sonal homepage: Sea ching o a de el-
ope ’s name on he web can gi e di ec ions
o a pe sonal homepage o blog ha migh
e eal company associa ion.
–
Social ne wo ks: Sea ching o a de elope ’s
name on social ne wo ks like LinkedIn and
o he p o essional pages migh e eal i m
a ilia ion.
–
P esen a ions and con e ences: De elope s
ha gi e p esen a ions commonly include
name and i m in he p esen a ion slides,
which a e easy o ind by a web sea ch.
Some issues we e aced when iden i ying con-
ibu o s’ a ilia ions. Fi s ly, he e is a di e en
le el o con ibu ions in OSS p ojec s. The e is
o en a lack o in o ma ion abou wha is equi ed
o become a con ibu o . Mo eo e , majo i y o
he pa icipan s in he mailing lis only pos ed
one mail, which makes i a was e o ime and e o
o iden i y hese pa icipan s as he con ibu ion
owa ds he i m’s in e ac ion and so wa e de el-
opmen is minuscule. We decided o exclude de el-
ope s wi h less han en en ies in he mailing lis
o bug acking sys em. Secondly, ma ching name,
alias and email add ess is no always s aigh o -
wa d. In Wi esha k, he spam p o ec ion policy
hides he ull email add ess, o ins ance: “F om:
[de elope name] <name@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>”.
Mo eo e , en ies in he bug acking sys em ha e
email lis ed, bu no name. The code eposi o y
en ies in Wi esha k does no con ain name o
mail o he de elope , ins ead a use name o a nick-
name is used. We had o use p ojec wiki pages
and pe sonal con ac s wi h some co e de elope s
o he p ojec o p o ide mapping o mos o he
use names o he ac ual de elope s.
44 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
Table 1. Summa y o quan i a i e da a om Wi esha k and Samba
P ojec Da a sou ce Da e o i s en y # o en ies
Wi esha k Mailing lis 31.05.2006 27230
Bug acking sys em 08.04.2005 7862
Code eposi o y 16.09.1998 42794
Samba Mailing lis 03.01.1997 90588
Bug acking sys em 24.04.2003 9659
Code eposi o y 04.05.1996 84699
3.3.3. Quali a i e da a
Rega ding o quali a i e da a, in e iews we e
selec ed om a con enien sample consis ing o
he i m-paid de elope s om Wi esha k, Samba
and Boo s ap. Ten in e iews we e conduc ed as
seen om Table 2. In Wi esha k and Samba, we
managed o ha e in e iews om i ms in a co e
laye and a pe iphe al laye (de ail as shonw in
Figu e 6). Due o non-disclosu e ag eemen s, we
did no e eal he ac ual iden i y o companies
(quan i a i e da a was publicly a ailable, hence
did no ha e his cons ain ). We used alias D1
o D10 o ep esen o such i ms.
As we did no know much abou he popula-
ion, we aimed o a non-p obabilis ic sampling
echnique using a conjunc ion o pu posi e and
snowball sampling. In Wi esha k, we used an ex-
is ing connec ion o one o he co e con ibu o s
as a s a ing poin , and asked o sugges ion o
de elope s ha could be in e es ing o in e iew
nex . The co e con ibu o poin ed ou ele an
de elope s o he esea ch opic, and assis ed
in con ac ing hem by pos ing ou in e iew in-
i a ion on he co e con ibu o mailing lis . In
Samba, we selec ed ele an de elope s in he
OSS p ojec based on he quan i a i e da a and
sen in e iew in i a ions o hese by email. In
Boo s ap, we had a de elope ac i ely con ibu -
ing o he p ojec in ou pe sonal ne wo k. F om
him, we go wo mo e in e iews wi h i m-paid
pa icipan s in Boo s ap.
The in e iew guide consis ed o bo h closed
and open ques ions. The closed ques ions we e
mainly used in he in oduc ion phase o he in-
e iew o solici backg ound in o ma ion abou
he esponden , i m and OSS p ojec con ex . In
addi ion, he closed ques ions we e used o con i m
o a ibu e s a emen s gi en by o he de elope s.
The open ques ions we e used o collec in o ma-
ion abou : (1) wo k p ocess/b idge enginee ole,
(2) i m awa eness/o ganiza ional bounda y and
(3) posi ion in he communi y/con ibu ions. The
in e iew guide and in e iew ques ions is publicly
a ailable. The in e iews we e conduc ed in En-
glish, excep o one in No wegian. The du a ion o
he in e iews anged om 45 minu es o 72 min-
u es. All he in e iews we e eco ded o acili a e
subsequen analysis and minimize po en ial da a
loss due o no e- aking. These eco dings we e
he ea e ansc ibed e ba im. T ansc ibing
audio eco ds esul ed in 55 pages o ich ex .
3.4. Da a analysis
3.4.1. Social ne wo k analysis (SNA)
SNA is a common app oach o in es iga e com-
munica ion and collabo a ion pa e ns based on
da a om mailing lis s o issue acking sys ems
[32
–
35,49]. This has been ex ensi ely used o
cons uc ing a de elope - ask ne wo k and mea-
su ing di e en ne wo k ea u es [32
–
35]. We
adop ed his app oach in i m le el, o unde -
s and he collabo a ion pa e n among i ms ia
communica ion ne wo ks. Consequen ly, we used
he i ms as nodes and he in e ac ion be ween
i ms as edges. In e ac ion among i ms is ep e-
sen ed by communica ion ia ei he a mailing lis
o commen s on an issue acking sys em. The
SNA was done in ou s eps:
–
S ep 1: Cons uc discussion ees om a mail-
ing lis and an issue acking sys em. A dis-
cussion ee consis s o an iden i ie node,
a sou ce node and a se o esponde nodes
(which can ange om none o many). The
de elope ha ini ia es a discussion is e-
ga ded as he sou ce, and he de elope s ha
Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 51
had used di ec and/o p i a e communica ion
channels o asking o help om he domain
expe s in he p ojec . Communica ion channels
used a e e-mail and ins an messaging, Skype and
elephone. D3 said: “I ha e done i [con ac ed
de elope s di ec ly] some imes in he pas . No
jus as a gene al I am s uck, can you help, bu
because i would be an a ea I knew he o he guy
was wo king on.” The p i a e communica ion is
usually he esul om a g adual es ablishmen
ia public communica ion, as men ioned by D6:
“Usually I end o do R&D asks mysel . I o en
seek o e iews o my wo k. When I need he
assis ance, I will go di ec ly o a de elope in he
communi y.”
Compa ing o public channels, D8 consid-
e ed p i a e communica ion as a way o es ablish
high-quali y con ac poin s and po en ial collab-
o a ion o u he p ojec s. He men ioned ha
a o k om p ojec mains eam should p oba-
bly include bes de elope s in he communi y
who a e no necessa ily he guy in he “onion
co e”. I is also s a ed ha a p i a e channel
is a quick and e icien communica ion medium.
D9 explained ha he used ins an messaging o
con ac ing de elope s in he communi y when
he wan ed a quick eedback. P i a e communi-
ca ion seems o be in a o compa ing o public
communica ion. D9 men ioned: “We y o ad-
d ess as much as we can he issues ha come
o us .. . No mally i we ge a p i a e message
abou an issue, we will ake i wi h highe p io -
i y” D5 men ioned ha when discussing legal o
secu i y sensi i e issues, he used a p i a e com-
munica ion channel. The na u e o such issues
in okes he use o p i a e channels as pos ing
i in he public channels may esul in secu i y
b eaches o simila ly bad si ua ions. Al hough
none o he o he de elope s said any hing abou
he use o di ec channels o such issues, we
belie e ha i is a common p ocedu e in mos
OSS p ojec s.
5.3. T us
T us is one o he undamen al ai s o a success-
ul collabo a i e en i onmen [29,51
–
53]. Ray-
mond s a ed ha “open-sou ce cul u e has an
elabo a e se o cus oms?[which] egula e who
can modi y so wa e, he ci cums ances unde
which i can be modi ied, and (especially) who
has he igh o edis ibu e modi ied e sions
back o he communi y” [54]. In ou cases, in e -
iewee s a ed ha he success o OSS p ojec s
is meaning ul o hem. Fo ins ance, wi h he
ad ance o he Wi esha k ool, D4 can use i
o se e o his daily wo k. Based on us , de-
elope s can collabo a e o he sake o hei
OSS p ojec . D3 said ha hey ha e con ac ed
us able de elope s di ec ly o a oid asking silly
o dumb ques ions in public: “I go ela ionships
wi h o he de elope s and some imes we don’
wan o ask in mailing lis causes i is a eally
s upid ques ion and you do no wan o ask he
whole mailing lis , so you jus ask he guy you
us ”. When a de elope needs help o design
a code o ix a bug, o he de elope s would be
willing o assis . By helping one ano he , de el-
ope s demons a e hei skills and knowledge,
which de elops a posi i e expec a ion o com-
pe ence and eliabili y. Le el o us is ela ed
o he s a us o he de elope s in OSS p ojec s,
which is e iden in he ollowing sec ion. The
obse a ion is aligned wi h p e ious esea ch on
he ole o us in success ul in e pe sonal ela-
ionships [37,38].
5.4. Pe cei ed bene i s
Despi e he isks associa ed wi h compe i o s,
many i ms decided o be open in sha ing and
synch onizing hei sou ce code wi h OSS com-
muni ies. Sou ce code can be synch onized wi h
ups eam de elopmen in OSS p ojec s, o in-
s ance, desc ibed by D5: “In gene al, ou phi-
losophy is o de elop ups eam i s and hen
back-po changes ha ha e been app o ed by
he ups eam communi y in o ou p oduc s. We
s ay e y in ol ed in he communi ies and y
o keep he di e ences be ween ou packaged
so wa e and ups eam so wa e o he mini-
mum necessa y.” Fi ms pe cei e bene i s wi h
such in ol emen as a oiding main enance and
me ging issues when combining public pa s o
p i a e pa s o sou ce codes. D10 illus a ed
o his idea: “.. . i you a e o make a change

52 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
Figu e 9. The ole o ga ekeepe in a comme cial i m
in he co e, and you wan o keep i p i a e,
you will ha e o o k he p ojec and main ain
i you sel . (...) I belie e, in he gene al case,
ha you gain mo e om con ibu ing o he de-
elopmen , ha e aining you code om he
communi y”. D1 men ioned ha “We do no
ha e o main ain ou own code base and syn-
ch onize i . We jus commi code o he sou ce
and ha e i he e. I we had no had he commi
access as easy as I do, we could ha e had ou
own e sion o Wi esha k and he sou ces, bu
hen we would ha e o do mo e wo k in me g-
ing ou e sion wi h he new eleases o Wi e-
sha k.”
Fi ms also conce n abou hei social posi-
ions in he p ojec s. I is appa en ha a cen al
posi ion in he communi y is closely ela ed o
being a co e de elope in mos cases. Two bene-
i s men ioned by he in e iewees a e: (1) easie
code inclusion and he eby a oid he need o ha -
ing a p i a e code eposi o y, and (2) ecei ing
mo e help om o he communi y membe s. D4
highligh s he impo ance o social posi ion in
OSS communi y: “I hink i [ha ing a posi ion]
helps a lo . I hink he e is a di e ence i , le s
say, D2 asks o help, hen I will help him i
I can. Bu i [De elope Name] om I ha e ne e
eally hea d o , is asking o help hen my le el
o e o is usually lowe . And pa o ha is
because I know D2 pe sonally, and pa o ha
is because I know ha he does a emendous
amoun o wo k. My iew is ha i he needs help
he dese es he help. And I hink i goes he
o he way oo, i people a e mo e likely o help
me because o he con ibu ions I ha e made
and hey know ha I ha e been con ibu ing o
a long ime. I hink i helps o ha e some so o
s a us wi hin he communi y.”
5.5. S a egic ision
The ole o s a egic ision on i m pa icipa ion
is somewha ague in ou cases. Fi m’s s a egy
could be how a i m de elops and deploy hei
p oduc , i.e. how ex e nal esou ces a e used o
educe de elopmen and main enance cos . The
ision o i m’s s a egy needs o be aligned a
no only manage ial bu also ope a ional le els.
The ans e o s a egic isions is no clea ly
e idenced in ou cases. Fo ins ance, a de elope
D4 men ioned he spen signi ican o ice wo k
hou s as well as spa e ime on con ibu ing o
Wi esha k. He acknowledged he bene i s o he
de elope s in his i m ecei ed om his pa ici-
pa ion in he OSS p ojec and he ac ha he
eely pa icipa ed in Wi esha k: “I is no an
o icial pa o my job, bu a lo o he de elop-
e s, es e s and he cus ome suppo people use
Wi esha k ex ensi ely.” Howe e , his i m lacked
o mal s a egies o decide how de elope s shall
pa icipa e and de elop he OSS, wha code ha
shall be con ibu ed back o o icial sou ces, and
how o main ain he OSS knowledge base wi hin
in he i m.
5.6. Ga ekeeping
The pe cep ions o a ga ekeepe , who na iga es
in o ma ion lows be ween his/he i m and ex e -
nal ac o s, we e acknowledged by all in e iewees.
While i ms migh ha e di e en needs and wo k
p ac ices, ga ekeepe s a e he ones s ay in be-
ween he i m and he OSS p ojec in some
way, as shown in Figu e 9. D1 s a ed ha when
his cowo ke s ound issues wi h he hi d pa y
componen s, hey in o med D1, bu no p ojec
manage s. D7 exp essed a simila pe cep ion:
Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 53
“Yes, I ac as a b idge be ween [Company Name]
and Samba and o wa d bugs/e o s o he com-
muni y.” The ga ekeepe is o en an ac i e ac o
in con ibu ing o he communi y, as men ioned
by D2: “Many o ou co e de elope s a e wo king
o smalle companies, and ha e a esponsibil-
i y o he in e nal p o ocols ha hei company
needs. (.. . ) I hink mos de elope s wo k indi id-
ually, and ha e he ole o p o iding Wi esha k
unc ionali y o he o he de elope s in he i m.”
In a coope a i e manne , he ga ekeepe is he
hub o in o ma ion and issues ha can be eached
by di e en de elope s ac oss he o ganiza ions,
as s a ed by D4: “Yes, e e ybody de ini ely knows
ha I am he Wi esha k guy. All he de elope s,
es e s and cus ome suppo people know ha
hey can come o me i hey ha e Wi esha k
issues (... )”. In i ms wi h mul iple de elope s
ac i e in ups eam de elopmen , i.e. commi -
ing o OSS p ojec s, he e is o en a ecognized
ga ekeepe ole among hem. D5 men ioned: “In
gene al when i comes o con ibu ing pa ches
ups eam each de elope in [Company Name]
is independen and can di ec ly app oach he
ups eam p ojec ? The [Company Name] Samba
package main aine usually has a ask o being
he ga ekeepe o hose bugs ha ha e been
epo ed agains [Company Name] p oduc s by
he cus ome s o he suppo eams (. . . )” In his
case, while code is con ibu ed independen ly by
indi iduals in he i m, he bugs is managed by
a ga ekeepe who submi s bug epo s on behal
o he i m in o he OSS p ojec ’s bug acking
sys em.
In a compe i i e manne , ga ekeepe s would
make su e ha no all p i a e sou ce code be
e ealed o public. Fi ms migh con ibu e code
ha ela e o co e componen s o OSS p oduc s,
o u ili y unc ions. In a ypical scena io, i ms
main ain hei p i a e eposi o ies, whe e many
componen s a e pa s o i ms’ co e alues. Such
componen s should no be e ealed, as men ioned
by D4: “The majo i y o he s u I ha e w i en
o Wi esha k has been pushed up? Bu you so
o d aw a line in he s u ha is obscu e enough
o no push. The only people who should be look-
ing a ou p op ie a y p o ocol should be us?”.
Some o he code is ega ded as p op ie a y and is
e ained in he i m’s p i a e code eposi o y, due
o echnical speci ic, o legal and au ho iza ion
issues D2 men ioned: “Mainly p o ocol dissec o s
o p o ocols used in ou equipmen , i he p o o-
col is based on open p o ocol desc ip ions om
3GPP, ITU o IETF (RFC) i is conside ed OK
o make an indi idual con ibu ion o OSS (.. . )”.
Code which is no ele an , sensi i e o poo ly
w i en would be il e ed ou by ga ekeepe s, as
men ioned by D4: “The s u we do no send in is
s u ha is no o in e es o anybody excep us
(.. . ) And he o he pa is ha I do no hink
he company would be h illed by a publica ion
o hese p o ocols. In o de o push hose hings
o Wi esha k I would need o ge au ho iza ion”.
5.7. Fi m awa eness
Se e al in e iewees acknowledged he p esence
o a leas ano he i m in he communi y (D1,
D2, D3, D8, D9, D10). Howe e , de elope s e-
ma k ha i is no he knowledge o wha o he
i ms wo k o ha is aluable, a he i is he
knowledge o wha business domain hey a e
wo king wi hin. D2 eplied when was asked abou
o he i m awa eness: “Yes, bu I do no know
ha much abou he i ms o he o he de elope s.
They ypically say ha hey wo k o Fi m X,
and ha is i . Wha i m hey a e wo king o
is no ha impo an o me.” D3 emphasized
he po en ial alue o ha ing he i m awa eness:
“(.. . ) I know ha D2 may ha e some ole as
a con ac o Fi m X (...) I know ha D2 may
be someone who is good a ge ing log iles o
speci ic hings. In he pas when I was wo king
wi h oice o e IP, I hough some imes he was
able o gi e me some log iles om wi hin his
company, bu I did no eally hink o him as he
company ep esen a i e. I hink o him as a com-
pany pe son who may be able o ge logs o me,
like he does.” In Boo s ap, de elope s exp essed
he conce n on how o he i ms we e doing ela ed
o he web echnology, in o de o d aw lessons
lea n o hei p oduc ision. D8 men ioned:
“We ca e abou i o he company a e using his
echnology in hei p oduc s, so we can lea n
om hem (... ) We do no ca e i some guys
jus wan o play wi h he echnology (. . . )” Ad-
54 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
di ionally, he in e iewees we e asked i hey con-
side ed ha hei con ibu ions could be used by
o he i ms o gain compe i i e ad an age. The
majo i y dismissed his pe cep ion, o example:
“As Fi m X does no di ec ly con ol Wi esha k,
I guess we ha e o be a bi ca e ul when we a e
in con ac wi h o he de elope s (. . . ) I belie e,
in he gene al case, ha you gain mo e om con-
ibu ing o he de elopmen , ha e aining you
code om he communi y”, s a ed by D2. A inal
ema k by D5 abou he compe i i eness is: “Al-
hough he e may be some compe i ion be ween
companies, as enginee s we seek collabo a ion
o mu ual bene i . We al eady know any ad-
ancemen will be used by e e ybody, ha is no
a p oblem, we ge back as much as we gi e ou .”
5.8. Collabo a ion
Al hough collabo a ion wi hin an OSS commu-
ni y is ypically in o mal and no planned, he e
a e ma e s ha ha e o be decided upon. Fo
ins ance, when he e is a new pos in a mailing
lis , a de elope has o decide whe he o engage
in he discussion wi h he o he s o no (essen-
ially collabo a ing wi h hem). The awa eness
o o he i ms in his aspec may p ospe he
collabo a ion. Fi m- paid de elope s wi h simila
needs and in e es s can collabo a e and d aw
on each o he ’s abili ies. Knowing ha a de el-
ope wo ks o a ce ain i m, and ha he can
p o ide ce ain code a i ac s also in luences he
collabo a ion. Es ablishing ela ionships o such
aluable de elope s h ough collabo a ion is key.
The e is a s ong desi e o e u n a o s and
hono de elope ’s posi ions by assis ing hem
when hey need help.
Many comme cial i ms adop OSS, bu do
no pa icipa e no con ibu e back o he OSS
communi ies. Some o hese i ms collabo a e di-
ec ly wi h o he s o de elop OSS-based p oduc s
u he , wi h o wi hou pa icipa ing in he OSS
communi y. How o pe o m he collabo a ion
is an aspec i ms ha e o decide. As desc ibed
abo e, he collabo a ion can ake place wi hin he
OSS communi y using public o p i a e communi-
ca ion channels, o ou side he communi y using
p i a e channels and p i a e code eposi o ies.
5.9. Awa eness o compe i ion
Fi ms wo king wi hin he same business domain
a e o en compe i o s in he ma ke , and hus
i is in e es ing o see how in luen ial he i m
awa eness is when i ms come oge he in com-
muni y based OSS p ojec s o de elop so wa e
collec i ely. Su p isingly, i m-paid de elope s
said ha hey pe cei ed o he de elope s as pa -
ne s and/o iends a he han compe i o s. D5
poin ed ou ha he had me many de elope s
a he OSS de elope con e ence, and conside ed
many o hem as iends. D1 explained ha he
did no make any dis inc ion be ween a i m-paid
de elope and a olun ee ing de elope : “I hink
o hem as de elope s, and no abou which i ms
hey ep esen .” D7 said ha he would pe cei e
o he s as pa ne s. D6 men ioned: “I ha e al-
ways hough o o he s as pa ne s. E en mo e –
I hink abou hem as colleagues.” D4, D8 and
D9 sha ed simila hough s, and dismissed he
pe cep ion o o he i m-paid de elope s as com-
pe i o s: “I guess as hings ha e e ol ed we do
ac ually compe e in some aspec s wi h some o
hese people a his poin . Bu ha hasn’ e-
ally occu ed o me much? I ha e no iced mo e
people who end o be cus ome s o ou s, a he
han ue compe i o s. We migh be compe i-
o s wi hin some a eas, bu I ha e ne e eally
hough abou i I guess”, s a ed by D9.
The issue o compe i ion om a i m om
somewhe e else in he wo ld migh no be sig-
ni ican o a s a up and a SME who ocus on
ha ing hei p oduc eleased as as as possible.
Wi hou a clea ision on how hei ma ke o
echnical ad an ages a e in luenced by sha ing
and using OSS sou ce code, he conce n o com-
pe i ion is no much ele an . D8 also men ioned:
“You hink abou o he i ms as you compe i o s,
bu I do no hink ha eally comes in o my
in e ac ions eally. They ha e hei own use s
somewhe e a ound he wo ld (...) I ha e some-
imes seen con ibu ions om hei de elope s,
bu I hink ha is good (... )”. Consequen ly, he
coope i ion concep in hese OSS p ojec s migh
be e y much coope a ion-dominan .
Ano he obse a ion is ha he i m’s social
posi ion is no used by any i ms o domina e
Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 55
OSS de elopmen . D6 men ioned: “Be o e wo k-
ing on Samba I used o hink ha big companies
may ha e big in luence in OSS p ojec simply by
’buying’ co e de elope s. Now, ha I know mos
o he people wo king on Samba, I know ha
his is no easible.” Hence, ha ing a posi ion, o
’buying’ one, is no he way i ms ela e o no
in luence he OSS de elopmen .
5.10. Consequen ac o s
In e iewees acknowledged he bene i s o pa -
icipa ing in OSS p ojec s, including knowledge
sha ing, o ganiza ional lea ning and ask e ec-
i eness. D2 men ioned ha many bes p ac ices
ound in e iewing code and p ope commen s on
commi s. He also app ecia ed he ac i eness le el
o he p ojec wi h as eedbacks. The p ac ices
a e acknowledged and b ough in o conside a-
ion o imp o emen a his eam. Main aining
an awa eness o he o he de elope s and wha
hey a e cu en ly wo king on is also ecognized
and is p omo ed by D6 in his i ms o a oiding
duplica ed code ac oss he whole codebase. O -
ganiza ional lea ning also occu s a he p ojec
le el. When a i m obse es he pa icipa ion and
in e ac ion o co e i ms in he OSS p ojec s, hey
can in e s a egic ocus a eas om, i.e. ea u e
eques s and applica ion cases.
In ou cases, in-house p oduc de elopmen
depends on he OSS p ojec s by (1) using ools
as ou comes o he p ojec s o (2) in eg a ing
and building hei p oduc s on op OSS com-
ponen s. The dependence in e s ha a ask
ha ela es o OSS codes is collec i e pe -
o med and he ask scope is beyond he OSS
p ojec . In a coope a i e-domina ed en i on-
men , he ask will be done in an easie way.
In a compe i i e-domina ed en i onmen , he
awa eness o compe i o s migh be ha m ul o
join ly comple ing he ask. Howe e , his is no
di ec ly e iden om ou cases.
6. Discussions
Table 5 summa izes ou indings in he compa i-
son wi h exis ing li e a u e. While many indings
con i m exis ing knowledge, hey also p o ide
some no el indings. This sec ion will discuss ou
indings based on ou opics: cen alized com-
munica ion s uc u e in communi y-lead OSS
p ojec s (Sec ion 6.1), modelling coope i ion in
he con ex o OSS p ojec s (Sec ion 6.2), he
ole o a ga ekeepe in implemen ing coope i ion
s a egies (Sec ion 6.3) and i m con ibu ion
s a egy in OSS p ojec s (Sec ion 6.4). Each sec-
ion will discuss ou indings wi h ela ed wo k.
The inal sec ion p esen s ou ac ions o add ess
h ea s o alidi ies (Sec ion 6.5).
6.1. Cen alized communica ion
s uc u e in communi y-lead OSS
p ojec s
Comme cial i ms pa icipa ing in commu-
ni y-based OSS p ojec s collabo a e in a ious
ways ac oss he o ganiza ional bounda ies. C ow-
s on e al. s a ed ha communica ions s uc u e
o a p ojec is an impo an elemen in unde -
s anding p ojec ’s p ac ices [28]. In ou cases,
he majo i y o he ac i i y in OSS p ojec s is
gene a ed by a small subse o he i ms, and ha
he emaining i ms pa icipa e wi h li le o none
con ibu ion. Wi esha k and Samba demons a e
a communica ions cen aliza ion s uc u e as in
he onion-like social s uc u e model [28]. Oezbek
e al. [60] in es iga ed ele en OSS p ojec s and
e ealed ha he ole o a de elope in he co e
laye migh be mo e impo an han he ac ha
hey do (commi code, ix bug, answe emails,
e c) mo e. Ou quan i a i e analysis o Wi esha k
and Samba con i med hese esul s by showing
he dominan con ibu ions o de elope s and
i ms in he co e laye . Ou quali a i e da a e-
ealed possible impo ance o hese de elope s in
implemen ing i ms’ s a egies, i.e. collabo a ion
o compe i ion. Dewan e al. [57] showed ha
he he e ogenei y, which exis s be ween i m-paid
de elope s and olun a y de elope s shapes he
e olu ion o OSS communi y and i s p oduc .
In ou case, we showed ha e en i m-paid de-
elope s ha e signi ican con ibu ions o code
commi s and communica ion, i is no signi i-
can ly di e en be ween i m-paid and olun a y
de elope s. F om communica ion s uc u e, his
56 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
Table 5. Summa y o indings
Findings Type Cu en knowledge
OSS in as uc u e as ounda ion o bo h
public and p i a e communica ion among
i ms
Con i ma ion
S uc u es as hose in OSS enables he in e-
g a ion o ex e nal esou ces [55].
Fi ms ac i i ies a e isible in OSS p ojec s Con i ma ion
He e ogenei y exis s be ween i m-paid de-
elope s and olun a y de elope s [56,57].
Some i ms in he co e posi ions, mos o
i ms con ibu e li le
New
Onion-like s uc u e a de elope s le el
[27,28].
Coope i ion exis s among i ms Con i ma ion
S ong explici go e nance app oaches can
di ec ly a ec o he i m’s bene i s [58].
Coope a ion-domina ed coope i ion among
i ms a code and issue le els
Con i ma ion
Compe i ion o he same e enue model
does no necessa y a ec collabo a ion
wi hin OSS p ojec s [15–17,59].
Ga ekeepe s p o ide a mechanism o pe -
o m coope i ion
Con adic
De elope s wi hin a i m need o be di ided
o ake cha ge o ei he collabo a ion o com-
pe i ion [19].
T us is he ounda ion o es ablishing com-
munica ion, collabo a ion and also compe i-
ion
Con i ma ion
T us as a success ac o s in collabo a ion
in OSS p ojec s [38,42].
S a egic ision is no signi ican a de elop-
e s’ le el
New
Sha ing s a egic ision is also c i ical o
collabo a ion a eam le el.
Fi ms gain social posi ion in OSS p ojec s,
a oid me ging and bug ixes, impac on in-
luencing de elopmen and ge suppo ed
New
Pe cei ed bene i is associa ed wi h bo h
coope a i e and compe i i e a i udes [22,
40,41].
e eals a di e en inding om Dahlande ’s wo k
[56].
6.2. Modelling coope i ion in he con ex
o OSS p ojec s
Business li e a u e men ions he di icul y o iden-
i ying coope i ion in a eal wo ld con ex [21].
Dagnino e al. [21] highligh ed ha coope i ion
does no simply eme ge om joining compe i ion
and collabo a ion, bu hey mix oge he o o m
a new kind o s a egic in e dependence be ween
i ms. We ag ee and illus a e o his iew by
showing ha in OSS p ojec s, comme cial i ms
ocus on ac i i ies ha c ea e a common alue
wi h an awa eness o no sha ing hei echnical
and legal sensi i e in o ma ion. F om ou cases,
COSS alida es a he meso le el o s a egic
collabo a ion, whe e i ms wi hin he same o
simila domain collabo a e. Among an eceden
ac o s om li e a u e, we highligh he ole o
a s uc u al condi ion ia public and p i a e
communica ion in as uc u es. The anspa en
and e ec i e communica ion in as uc u e p o-
ides a mechanism o coope i ion. Ou s udy
desc ibes a compe i ion-domina ed ype o coope-
i ion. E en when i ms a e awa e o hei com-
pe i o s, he a i ude o collabo a ion is s ill o e -
whelming. Valenca e al. aise a ques ion whe he
i ms a e collabo a o s o compe i o s in so wa e
ecosys ems [3]. A he equi emen enginee ing
le el, he au ho s ound se e al signi ican chal-
lenges among i ms wi hin he same collabo a i e
ne wo k [3]. OSS p ojec s and i ms migh ha e
di e gen in e es s bu i ms can manage o dis-
co e a eas o con e gen in e es and be able
o adap hei o ganizing p ac ices o collabo-
a e [7]. In ou case, his is clea ly obse able a
he ope a ional le el. The inding also ma ches
wi h obse a ions by Linåke [15].
6.3. The ole o a ga ekeepe in
implemen ing coope i ion s a egies
Beng sson e al. a gued ha indi iduals wi hin
a i m could only ac in acco dance wi h one o
he wo logics o in e ac ion a a ime, i.e., ei he
o compe e o o collabo a e [19]. Ou obse a-

Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 57
ion on a ga ekeepe ole gi es an al e na i e
explana ion on how i ms manage such scena io.
The i m’s s a egy can be lexible, o example
ully open co e sou cing a one ime, and il e ing
o sha ed code a ano he ime. The implemen a-
ion o such s a egies is done ia he i m ga e-
keepe , who does ac ual echnical con ibu ion
o he communi y. The e o e, in con as wi h
Beng sson’s indings, we ind ha i is possible o
implemen a i m-le el dynamic in e ac ion ia in-
di iduals in so wa e p ojec s. The ole o a ga e-
keepe is discussed in he con ex o comme -
cial dis ibu ed so wa e eams [61,62]. Ma czak
e al. ound he ole o knowledge b oke s who
would ha e a signi ican impac on in o ma ion
low in equi emen -in e dependen eams [62]. In
a con ex o i m- o- i m in e ac ion, we showed
ha a ga ekeepe could na iga e he in o ma ion
low beyond i m’s bounda ies. Nguyen-Duc e al.
showed ou common asks o a ga ekeepe : ask
nego ia ion, con lic esolu ion, ask- ela ed in-
o ma ion na iga ion and bounda y objec se ups
[61]. While he au ho s in es iga ed ga ekeepe s
in a so wa e i m and a OSS p ojec sepa a ely,
his wo k ocuses on bounda y spanning ac i i ies
be ween he OSS communi ies and so wa e i ms.
By in luencing he ga ekeepe s, managing code
lows and in o ma ion lows, i ms can implemen
compe ing o collabo a ing s a egies.
6.4. Fi m con ibu ion s a egy
in OSS p ojec s
The e exis some s udies cap u ing he phe-
nomenon o comme cial i ms con ibu ing o
OSS p ojec s. Linåke e al. in es iga ed con-
ibu ion s a egies o i ms when pa icipa ing
in OSS p ojec s [63]. The au ho s p oposed he
Con ibu ion Accep ance P ocess (CAP) model
o de e mine i sou ce code o any ypes o con-
ibu ions can be con ibu ed o no . The CAP
model bases on wo dimensions: (1) he bene-
i s company can ecei e and (2) he knowledge
behind he con ibu ions o acqui e and con ol
[63]. While hese wo dimensions a e simila o
ou model’s elemen s: pe cei ed bene i s (Sec ion
5.4) and ga ekeeping (Sec ion 5.6), ou model
also explo e o he ac o s ha impac he ways
i ms con ibu e o he OSS communi ies and col-
labo a e wi h o he i ms. Muni e al. discussed
how he openness o so wa e i ms migh help
hem o gain bene i s om OSS communi ies
om ou dimensions: (1) s a egy, (2) igge s,
(3) ou comes, and (4) le el o openness. The
model is simila wi h some elemen s in ou COSS
model, i.e. s a egic ision, communica ion, ga e-
keeping and consequen ac o s. Howe e , hese
models do no cap u e he compe i ion s a egy
ha i ms migh adop in OSS p ojec s. Unlike
he p e ious wo k, ou COSS model p oposed
a comp ehensi e iew on ac o s ha impac he
s a egy o collabo a ion and compe i ion.
6.5. Th ea s o alidi y
6.5.1. Cons uc alidi y
Th ea s o cons uc alidi y conside he e-
la ionship be ween heo y and obse a ion, in
case he measu ed a iables do no p o ide
a good measu e o he ac ual ac o s [45]]. In
a quali a i e s udy, cons uc alidi y can be
hough o a “labeling” issue, as we migh
ind he cons uc o he ou comes ha we
belie e we a e ying o cap u e. A main as-
sump ion in ou s udy lies in he way we iden-
i y coope i ion among comme cial i ms. As
he coope i ion concep comes om economic
and business esea ch, we did no ha e a di-
ec map om how he concep ope a ional-
ize in SE esea ch. P e ious s udies ha men-
ion e m “coope i ion” [3,15], do no p o ide
he cons uc o his concep . Hence, o ou
bes knowledge, his is he i s s udy in SE
a emp o ope a ionalize his concep . We e-
duced his isk by a de ail e iew and he iden-
i ica ion o cha ac e is ics o coope i ion, he
explo a ion o he con ex whe e he cons uc
is in es iga ed. Bo h quan i a i e and quali a-
i e da a was collec ed in concep ’s elemen s
and summa ized in he end o desc ibe he
model. We also include discussion wi h co-au-
ho s and an expe in he en ep eneu ship in
alida e ou obse a ion.
The phenomenon is ope a ionalized based on
public and p i a e communica ion among de-
58 Anh Nguyen-Duc e al.
elope s pa icipa ed in OSS p ojec s. We we e
awa e o o he communica ion channels, such as
p i a e messaging, elephone and Skype, howe e ,
we do no ha e a easible way o quan i y his. We
limi ed he in es iga ion in public collabo a ion
whe e de elope s esponsed o he same mailing
lis o commen on he same issue. Rega ding o
he iden i ica ion o i m pa icipa ion, we used
SNA wi h densi y me ics, such as deg ee cen-
ali y and closeness [49]. O he ne wo k-based
measu es o he same cons uc (e.g., ansi-
i i y, compac ness, and connec edness) could
be conside ed o enhancing he igo o his
esea ch. We also used an unweigh app oach o
pe o m SNA, which igno ed he i ms’ cha ac-
e is ics, such as i m size, and business s a egy
owa ds he OSS communi y. This could be con-
side ed in u u e wo k, especially in i m-based
OSS p ojec s.
The isk o ope a ionaliza ion is educed by
using a mixed me hod esea ch, including bo h
quan i a i e and quali a i e da a. The in e ie-
wees we e conduc ed wi h i ms om di e en
social posi ion in OSS p ojec s, which inc ease
he c edibili y in he obse a ion o phenomenon.
The da a is limi ed a en in e iews. Howe e ,
we had eached da a sa u a ion [45] when in-
e iewing Boo s ap case. Al hough, in e ie-
wees we e selec ed om di e en ypes o OSS
p ojec s, di e en company p o iles, we ound
ha hei esponses we e consis en , which in-
c ease ou con idence in he us wo hiness
o he da a.
6.5.2. Ex e nal alidi y
This h ea conside s he abili y o gene alize
ou indings. The goal o his s udy is no o
achie e s a is ical gene aliza ion, bu a he an
analy ical gene aliza ion. This is pa icula ly im-
po an when s udying a complex phenomenon,
in ou case is coope i ion in OSS p ojec s. To
a oid he bias on indings om a single case, we
analyzed wo OSS p ojec s. Quali a i e da a was
u he collec ed om he hi d OSS p ojec o
imp o e he gene aliza ion. Wi h he in-dep h
in es iga ion in bo h communi y and i ms’ sides
o he p ojec s, we a e con iden abou he ex-
plana ion powe o he COSS model o sim-
ila con ex s. Ou OSS p ojec s p oduce a li-
b a y, a amewo k and an applica ion, employ-
ing GPL and MIT licenses. Ou cases ep esen
o a communi y-ini ia ed OSS p ojec s, ha a e
ini ia ed and lead by he communi y. Fu he
esea ch should eplica e ou me hod on o he
ypes o OSS p ojec s o explo e o he collabo-
a ion and compe i ion scena ios. They a e also
popula OSS p ojec s wi h yea s o ope a ion,
hence he p oduc s and collabo a ion p ocess
ha e been s able. The indings migh no be di-
ec ly applicable o eme ging OSS p ojec s, o
p ojec s ini ia ed by i ms. Resea ch on p ojec s
wi h di e en ypes o OSS licenses migh lead
o a a ie y in ou model.
6.5.3. Reliabili y
This h ea conce ns abou he le el o which he
ope a ional aspec s o he s udy, such as da a
collec ion and analysis p ocedu es, a e epea able
wi h he same esul s. The main da a collec ion
was done as a pa o a mas e hesis. All in e -
iews we e eco ded and ansc ibed e ba im
in o de o make su e ha no da a educ ion
occu ed p ema u ely. The ansc ip ion o he
in e iews was e iewed and in e p e ed by he
o he au ho . In case o ague s a emen s, one
au ho is esponsible o ollow-up discussions
wi h in e iewees o cla i ica ion. We used bo h
quan i a i e da a abou communica ion among
i ms in he p ojec and quali a i e da a om
in e iews o i ms om di e en con ibu ion
laye s. The da a iangula ion allows ou ind-
ings ep esen he ue si ua ion o in es iga ed
p ojec s. Mo eo e , he pape has gone h ough
p oo - ead om se e al senio esea che s in he
domain. Thei eedbacks help us o imp o e he
pape signi ican ly since he i s d a .
7. Conclusions
Coope i ion is an impo an opic in economics
and business esea ch [19, 21], bu i is o e -
looked in o he domains. In mode n so wa e
indus y, he popula i y o de eloping so wa e
Do So wa e Fi ms Collabo a e o Compe e? A Model o Coope i ion in Communi y-ini ia ed OSS P ojec s 59
p oduc s beyond i m’s bounda y makes coope i-
ion a ele an heme. In his pape , we used
bo h quali a i e and quan i a i e da a o in-
es iga e coope i ion in OSS p ojec s. Fi s ly,
we ound ha comme cial i ms pa icipa ing
in communi y-ini ia ed OSS p ojec s collabo-
a e in a ious ways ac oss he o ganiza ional
bounda ies. While mos o i ms con ibu e li -
le, a small numbe o i ms a e e y ac i e and
accoun o la ge p opo ions o con ibu ion. I
is also e iden ha i ms in e ac ac oss hei
bounda ies in OSS p ojec s. Secondly, we p o-
posed an empi ical model COSS o explain o
oo causes o coope i ion in OSS p ojec s. The
COSS model shows ha coope i ion is based
on he i m awa eness, s uc u al condi ion o
he OSS p ojec s and ope a ed by ga ekeepe s.
The coope i ion is coope a ion-domina ed e en
among i ms wo king in he same business do-
main wi h simila business models.
The indings ha e implica ions o esea ch.
We o e a desc ip i e explana ion o how coope-
i ion occu s and impac s in OSS p ojec s.
We obse e ha so wa e i ms emphasize he
co-c ea ion o common alue and pa ly eac o
he po en ial compe i i eness in OSS p ojec s.
The highligh o ou indings is he COSS model,
which a gues ha compe i ion and collabo a ion
can bo h be handled by ga ekeepe s. The ole
o ga ekeepe s in c ossing o ganiza ional bound-
a ies is s ill an in e es ing esea ch opic. Fo
SE wi h abundan esea ch on OSS collabo a-
ion and communica ion, he s udy on in e - i m
coope i ion is a no el way o looking a he same
da a sou ces and in as uc u es.
The s udy also has implica ions o p ac i-
ione s. We o e so wa e i ms insigh s abou
di e en coope i ion s a egies obse ed in a com-
muni y-d i en OSS p ojec . Fo ins ance, no all
communica ion goes h ough he public channels
in OSS p ojec s. Legal and secu i y sensi i e
issues commonly go h ough p i a e o closed
channels because o hei na u es. Fu he mo e,
i ms should conside a ga ekeepe as an impo -
an ole when hey plan o pa icipa e and gain
bene i om OSS p ojec s.
Fo u u e wo k, he nex s ep would be
o alida e he COSS model wi h a la ge se
o cases. Ou esea ch he e only uses h ee
communi y-d i en OSS p ojec s, which limi s
he gene aliza ion o indings. Mo eo e , a longi-
udinal obse a ion on how coope i ion e ol es
among i ms can p o ides knowledge ha goes
beyond c oss-sec ional obse a ions. Las bu no
leas , u he in es iga ion abou employing he
ole o ga ekeepe s o coope i ion is needed o
p o ide ac ionable guideline o success ul ope a-
ion o in e - i m coope i ion. Fu u e wo k can
also in es iga e OSS p ojec se ings ha a ec
i m collabo a ion, i.e. OSS license, and ea u e
eques mechanism. I would be in e es ed o see
how hese ac o s could play a ole in ou model.
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