Technology Analysis & S a egic Managemen , 2014
Vol. 26, No. 1, 55–68, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1080/09537325.2013.850158
Cu en issues and esea ch ends on
open-sou ce so wa e communi ies
M.R. Ma inez-To es∗and M.C. Diaz-Fe nandez
Depa men o Business Adminis a ion and Managemen , Uni e si y o Se ille, Se ille, Spain
Open sou ce so wa e (OSS) p ojec s ep esen a new pa adigm o so wa e c ea ion and de el-
opmen based on hund eds o e en housands o de elope s and use s o ganised in he o m o a
i ual communi y. The success o an OSS p ojec is closely linked o he success ul o ganisa-
ion and de elopmen o he i ual communi y o suppo g oup. This pape e iews di e en
ields and esea ch opics ela ed o he OSS communi ies such as collec i e in elligence, he
s uc u e o OSS communi ies, hei success, communi ies as i ual o ganisa ions, mo i a ion,
sha ed knowledge, inno a ion and lea ning. The main challenges, esul s ob ained, and he
knowledge a eas a e de ailed o each opic.
Keywo ds: open sou ce so wa e; i ual communi ies; esea ch ends; su ey
In oduc ion
The open sou ce so wa e (OSS) ep esen s a so wa e de elopmen model in which he sou ce
code is a ailable o p og amme s o iew, ead, modi y and edis ibu e wi hou he es ic ions o
he in ellec ual p ope y igh s, which is ypical o p op ie a y so wa e eleased unde a licence.
I s ands o a adical shi om he adi ional so wa e-enginee ing p ac ice, and a new and
e olu iona y way o so wa e de elopmen (Moody 2001;Raymond 1999).
The e a e impo an philosophical di e ences be ween he open-sou ce and he p op ie a y
so wa e de elopmen . While adi ional i ms can de i e compe i i e ad an age om he own-
e ship o con ol o in e nal esou ces, OSS i ms depend on he capabili y o con ol esou ces
which a e ex e nal o he i m, in his case p ima ily in he o m o OSS communi ies (Dahlande
and Magnusson 2005). Ano he di e ence o he p op ie a y so wa e de elopmen is ha OSS
p ojec s a e based on he indi idual con ibu ions o dozens o e en housands o de elope s geo-
g aphically dis ibu ed and o ganised as a i ual de elopmen communi y (Lee and Cole 2003).
I s success is owing o bo h he op imal de elopmen o he p ojec s ( ha is, he speed a which
new e sions a e eleased, and i s eliabili y, po abili y and scalabili y), and he pa icipan s
om he communi y (G ube and Henkel 2006; on Hippel and on K ogh 2003;Lakhani and
on Hippel 2003;Ma ínez-To es e al. 2010). OSS p ojec s a e based on i ual suppo com-
muni ies (Lee and Cole 2003), ha use he so wa e and pa icipa e in hei de elopmen . These
∗Co esponding au ho . Email: [email p o ec ed]
© 2013 Taylo & F ancis
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56 M.R. Ma inez-To es and M.C. Diaz-Fe nandez
Figu e 1. Numbe o pape s published du ing he pe iod 2001–2011.
ad an ages esul om keeping he sou ce code open o he whole communi y. The ad ances
achie ed by a pa icula de elope can be iewed and e ised by he es o he communi y mem-
be s (To al, Ma ínez-To es, and Ba e o 2009). The communi y membe s lea n om each o he
and as a esul he o e all abili ies and skills o he communi y a e imp o ed. In con as o he
physical communi ies, a i ual communi y comp ises pa icipan s who a e geog aphically and
o en empo ally dis ibu ed, loosely a ilia ed, less no ma i ely bound, linked oge he h ough
he medium o in o ma ion echnology and ‘[…] cen ed upon communica ions and in e ac ions o
pa icipan s o build collec i e knowledge’(B in 2001;Gup a and Kim 2004;Hsu e al. 2007, 153).
Open-sou ce phenomenon has also a ac ed he in e es o academics and p ac i ione s. I can
be conside ed as a mul idisciplina y esea ch opic ha ha e ecei ed an inc easing a en ion
du ing he las decade because o wo easons: i s ly, i s simple exis ence, secondly, he way
i con adic s he adi ional heo ies and common business p ac ices ( on Hippel 2007; on
Hippel and on K ogh 2003;Kogu and Me iu 2001;Le ne and Ti ole 2002;Wayne 2000). The
impo ance o OSS communi ies has also been highligh ed in se e al axonomies ela ed o he
OSS esea ch, whe e communi ies a e conside ed pa o se e al ca ego ies like OSS s anda ds and
egula ions, OSS p oduc ion, OSS go e nance, inno a ion, collabo a ion and knowledge sha ing,
use and de elope mo i a ions, e c. (Aksulu and Wade 2010). This ac jus i ies he necessi y o
conside ing he OSS communi ies as a sepa a e sub- ield o esea ch. One o he speci ic ea u es
o his kind o communi ies is he in ense use o elec onic media o be in con ac , and he ac
ha hese in e ac ions a e publicly a ailable. This accessibili y o in o ma ion has acili a ed he
analysis om di e en scien i ic pe spec i es.
Wi h he aim o es ablishing a ca ego isa ion in e ms o esea ch ends, a sample o 154 pape s
ha e been ex ac ed om he Web o ScienceSM da abase using ‘open sou ce’ in combina ion
wi h ‘ i ual/online communi ies’ as he sea ch c i e ia du ing he pe iod 2001–2011. Figu e 1
illus a es he numbe o published pape s du ing he conside ed ime ame.
Using he keywo ds o he pape s, eigh di e en opics o ca ego ies we e dis inguished.
The p ocedu e consis ed o ex ac ing he keywo ds o all he conside ed pape s o build a
co-occu ence ma ix showing he simila i y o e ms. Then a clus e analysis was applied o
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Issues and esea ch ends on OSS communi ies 57
Collec e
in elligence
11%
Communi y
s uc u e
11%
Success
4%
Vi ual
o ganisaons
29%
Mo aon
13%
Sha ed
knowledge
15%
Lea ning
5%
Inno aon
12%
Figu e 2. Pe cen age o pape s on di e en opics e e ed o OSS in he Web o ScienceSM da abase.
ex ac he main opics o in e es . As a esul , eigh opics o ca ego ies we e ob ained. The
name o each opic was chosen o show he unde lying meaning o he agg ega ed wo ds pe
opic. Figu e 2illus a es he dis ibu ion o he conside ed ca ego ies o e he selec ed sample o
pape s.
This igu e illus a es he mul idisciplina y cha ac e is ic o he OSS communi ies ac oss di -
e en knowledge a eas, such as so wa e enginee ing, social sciences, in o ma ion sciences,
managemen o e en business. The pu pose o his pape is o e iew hese pe spec i es, hei
main issues and challenges, and he esea ch esul s ob ained o comp ehend he en i e body o
esea ch behind he OSS communi ies.
Collec i e in elligence
The basic de ini ion o collec i e in elligence is a o m o in elligence ha eme ges when a
g oup o indi iduals do hings oge he . The main assump ion is ha he g oup, wo king possibly
in a collabo a i e o coo dina ed manne , is able o ac mo e in elligen ly han any indi idual
membe o he g oup. Fu he mo e, a mo e elabo a ed assump ion es ablishes ha collec i e
in elligence is he capaci y o a human communi y o e ol e owa ds a highe o de complexi y o
hough , p oblem sol ing and in eg a ion h ough collabo a ion and inno a ion (No eck 2006).
The syne gy c ea ed by collabo a ions wi h di e se pa icipan s b ings complemen a y s eng hs o
he communi y, and he cogni i e limi o an indi idual o a small g oup o use s can be o e come
by means o collec i e in elligence (Maleewong, Anu a iya, and Wuwongse 2008).
The de eloped collec i e in elligence app oach acili a es collabo a i e knowledge c ea ion by
encou aging membe s o p opose posi ions conce ning he issues in he domain o in e es s. The
p oposed posi ions a e suppo ed o opposed by membe s’ a gumen s conce ning as indi iduals’
p e e ences, which a e agg ega ed in o g oup p e e ence o e alua ing he accep ance le el o
each posi ion.
Collec i e in elligence has ecei ed much a en ion in ecen yea s, as o ganisa ions and busi-
nesses ha e disco e ed he powe o c owds. Wi h new echnologies, such as blogs, wi e , wikis,
pho o sha ing, collabo a i e agging and social ne wo king si es, people a e able o c ea e and
dissemina e con en as ne e be o e (O eilly 2007). In he con ex o OSS communi ies, p e-
ious wo ks had examined how indi idual and social c ea i i y can be in eg a ed by means o
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58 M.R. Ma inez-To es and M.C. Diaz-Fe nandez
sha eable ex e nalisa ions, he de elopmen o models in he cons uc ion o me a-design en i-
onmen s ha can enhance c ea i i y and suppo spon aneous design ac i i ies, and he pa e n o
eme gence o new design compe ence (Bonabeau 2009), i.e. he one ha equi es passage om
indi idual c ea i e ac ions o syne ge ic ac i i ies, and om he e lec i e p ac i ione o e lec i e
communi ies.
Al hough collec i e in elligence has been s udied in many i ual communi ies, i has also been
applied o OSS communi ies. Main indings e eal:
•The powe o in e ac ion and collabo a ion wi h o he indi iduals. Much o he human c ea i i y
is social, a ising om ac i i ies ha ake place in a con ex in which in e ac ion wi h o he people
happen.
•Majo i y o he pa icipan s con ibu e o sa is y hei own pe sonal goals. Mos de elope s
con ibu e only o one p ojec and only o a small po ion o i s sou ce code.
•Co po a e collec i e in elligence is an asse , which i ha nessed and p ope ly used, has he
po en ial o c ea e signi ican compe i i e ad an age o an o ganisa ion.
Publica ions ela ed o collec i e in elligence and OSS communi ies mainly belong o he ield o
Compu e Science, In o ma ion Sys ems, using me hodologies like seman ic analysis, mul i a ia e
s a is ics and pee ma ching algo i hms.
S uc u e o OSS communi ies
Al hough a s ic hie a chical s uc u e does no exis in OSS communi ies, he s uc u e o OSS
communi ies is no comple ely la . Each OSS communi y has a unique s uc u e depending on he
na u e o he sys em and i s membe popula ion. The s uc u e o an OSS communi y di e s in he
pe cen age o each ole in he whole communi y (Ma inez-To es 2012). In his sense, membe s
o an OSS communi y assume ce ain oles by hemsel es acco ding o hei pe sonal in e es in
he p ojec , a he han being assigned by someone else. P e ious classi ica ions dis inguish he
ollowing eigh oles: P ojec Leade ; Co e Membe , Ac i e De elope , Pe iphe al De elop, Bug
Fixe , Bug Repo e , Reade and Passi e Use . The in luences ha membe s ha e on he sys em
and he communi y a e di e en , depending on he oles hey play. The ac i i y o a P ojec Leade
a ec s mo e membe s han hose o a Co e Membe , who in u n has a highe in luence han an
Ac i e De elope , and so on. Passi e Use s ha e he leas in luence, bu hey s ill play impo an
oles in he whole communi y (Ye and Kishida 2003). Howe e , no all o he eigh ypes o oles
exis in all OSS communi ies, and he pe cen age o each ype a ies. Communi y membe s ha e
di e en oles ha do no o e lap wi hin his co e-pe iphe y o he s uc u e (Nakakoji e al.
2002). The co e g oup is esponsible o g ea e p opo ion o he wo k accomplished, while he
e y la ge g oup o pe iphe al pa icipan s is esponsible o he emainde (Ghosh and P akash
2000;Mockus, Fielding, and He bsleb 2002). Ne e heless, mos sys ems a e de eloped by a
small numbe o de elope s (Kuk 2006).
Resea ch on his issue has been ocused on modelling pa e ns o beha iou in OSS mailing lis s
o Communi ies o P ac ice (CPs) (To al, Ma ínez-To es, and Ba e o 2009), he ela ionship
be ween i ms and communi ies (Dahlande and Magnusson 2005), go e nance s uc u es (Gençe
and Oba 2011) and he impac o echnology on he de elopmen o he so wa e. Communi ies o
p ac ice is he main heo e ical opic in which his se o wo ks is based on. This concep e e s o
he p ocess o social lea ning ha occu s when people ha ing a common in e es in some subjec
o p oblem collabo a e o e an ex ended pe iod o sha e ideas, ind solu ions and build inno a ions
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Issues and esea ch ends on OSS communi ies 59
(Wenge and Snyde 2000). In he case o OSS communi ies, he pa icipa ion mechanism leads o
he men ioned s uc u e. I has been demons a ed ha much o he OSS de elopmen is ealised
by a small pe cen age o indi iduals despi e he ac ha he e a e ens o housands o de elope s
a ailable. Such concen a ion cons i u es pa icipa ion inequali y, which is in s a k con as wi h
he ully pa icipa i e ‘bazaa ’image y o OSS de elopmen p oposed by Raymond in his amous
wo k ‘The ca hed al and he bazaa ’.
Main esul s ela ed o OSS communi ies’ s uc u e e eal ha he key g oup is he co e g oup
o de elope s, esponsible no only o he majo i y o con ibu ions bu also o p omo ing pa ic-
ipa ion among o he g oup membe s. Some wo ks ha e also modelled he main an eceden s wi h
a signi ican impac on he de elopmen o he p ojec , as well as he b oke age oles de eloped
by he co e g oup.
Resea ch abou he s uc u e o OSS communi ies is mainly published in jou nals belonging
o he ields o Compu e Science, So wa e Enginee ing and Compu e Science, Theo y and
Me hods. The i s g oup o publica ions is ocused on he impac o he s uc u e on he unde lying
so wa e while he second g oup is mo e ocused on modelling ac i i y h ough mul i a ia e
s a is ics.
Success
Di e en measu es o de ine he success o open-sou ce p ojec s ha e been p oposed in he
li e a u e. They can be classi ied in o h ee ca ego ies: (i) so wa e use, (ii) size o he communi y
and/o i s le el o ac i i y and (iii) echnical achie emen s o he p ojec .
Acco ding o he i s wo ca ego ies, an OSS is success ul when i is widely adop ed among
use s o when a la ge and ac i e communi y o de elope s con ibu es o i s p oduc ion. In his
sense, so wa e success can be measu ed in e ms o ou pu pe con ibu o , ha is, he a e age
numbe o sou ce code lines w i en by each con ibu o (P eece 2001). O he measu emen s
conside a p ojec success ul depending on he numbe o subsc ibe s associa ed wi h a p ojec .
I has been ound ha his numbe is la ge when he so wa e is eleased unde non- es ic i e
schemes and sponso ed by non-ma ke o ganisa ions, e.g. Uni e si ies (Comino, Manen i, and
Pa isi 2007). Finally, a so wa e has also been conside ed success ul when i s sou ce code is o
high quali y, e.g. i is highly modula , co ec and main ainable.
Resea ch abou success o OSS p ojec s is ocused on mining eposi o ies and que ying p ojec
pa icipan s o e ie e key p ocess in o ma ion and on de eloping an OSS success model om
a p e ious In o ma ion Sys ems success model, bu inco po a ing he cha ac e is ics o OSS
(Dinh-T ong and Bieman 2005).
Resul s o hese wo ks conclude ha success depends on o ganisa ional ac o s, so wa e quali y
and communi y se ice quali y. Among o ganisa ional ac o s, he asks de eloped by he co e
g oup o de elope s ha e been highligh ed as one o he c i ical elemen s (To al, Ma ínez To es,
and Ba e o 2010). The adop ion o open-sou ce and i s ul ima e di usion a e also in luenced by
i s pe cei ed in insic alue, he nega i e ne wo k ex e nali y e ec coming om he dominan
s anda d, he posi i e ne wo k ex e nali y e ec coming om he access o he communi y o
p og amme s and he compe i i e eac ion o incumben s in he comme cial so wa e indus y
(Bonacco si and Rossi 2003). Finally, success has also been analysed om he pe spec i e o
echnological accep ance models (TAM). TAM heo ises ha an indi idual’s ac ual sys em usage
is de e mined by beha iou al in en ion, which is in u n join ly de e mined by pe cei ed use ulness
and pe cei ed ease o use. O he ex e nal a iables ha e been p oposed in he li e a u e, bu all o
hem media ed by use ulness and ease o use.
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60 M.R. Ma inez-To es and M.C. Diaz-Fe nandez
Wo ks ela ed o OSS success a e mainly published in jou nals belonging o he ield o Manage-
men and Compu e Science, So wa e Enginee ing. P oposed me hodologies include mul i a ia e
s a is ics, s uc u al equa ion modelling (SEM) and su eys o so wa e o ganisa ions o es he
concep ual models.
Vi ual o ganisa ions
Vi ual o ganisa ions can be de ined as a o m o coope a ion in ol ing companies, ins i u ions
and/o indi iduals who pu pose ully unc ion as a cohe en uni h ough a common in e es
(C ows on and Scozzi 2002). They a e cha ac e ised by h ee main aspec s: he exis ence o an
in e es o goal sha ed by he membe s o he g oup, geog aphical dis ibu ion, and he use o
In o ma ion and Communica ion Technologies (ICT) o communica e and manage he in e de-
pendencies. This is he case o OSS communi ies whe e membe s sha e a common in e es in
he so wa e being de eloped, hey a e ypically geog aphically dis ibu ed, and hey make use
o In e ne o coo dina e di e en ac ions (Bonacci 2004). The p ima y cause o his shi away
om ‘physically concen a ed’ o ganisa ions o dispe sed i ual ones is he new long-dis ance
communica ion ools ha In e ne has p o ided.
F om his pe spec i e, s udies abou OSS communi ies ha e been ocused on how hey can
con ibu e o and bene i om ou knowledge o he unc ioning o i ual o ganisa ions and he
possibili y o ans e ing OSS business model o o he indus ial se ings. Resea ch in his line has
also been ocused on he quali y o communica ion wi hin he i ual o ganisa ion o he ne wo k
p ope ies o he o ganisa ion (Bonacci 2004). Acco ding o he in ended p ojec audience, use -
a ge ed p ojec s and de elope - a ge ed p ojec s can be dis inguished. The iden i ica ion o hose
aspec s o p ojec managemen ha ha e an impac on communi y pe o mance o di e en ypes
o p ojec s has also been he opic o se e al s udies.
Again, his opic is highly mul idisciplina y. In he ea ly days o i ual communi ies, Rheingold
(1993) and Hagel andA ms ong (1997) b ough he upcoming phenomenon o academic a en ion.
Con ibu ions abou mo e speci ic aspec s such as sociabili y (P eece 2001), economies (Kollock
1999) and alue (Co h el 2000), ollowed. Subsequen ly, au ho s ocused on opics like knowledge
(Kankanhalli, Tan, and Kwok-Kee 2005) and oolki s (F anke and on Hippel 2003; on Hippel
2001). La e , esea che s became mo e in e es ed in he inno a i e capabili ies o i ual o gan-
isa ions and how le e aging hei po en ial (Mu ay and O’Mahony 2007;O’Mahony and
Fe a o 2007).
Nowadays, publica ions a e mainly ela ed o he ields o Business and Compu e Science,
So wa e Enginee ing. Me hodologies a y om desc ip i e and eg ession analysis o clus e
analysis and compu e simula ion o he OSS communi y model.
Mo i a ion
The ques ion o mo i a ion is he sea ch o he cause and d i e o human beha iou (Ree e
2005). Psychology cha ac e ises mo i a ion as he p ocess ha e e s o eleasing, con olling and
main aining physical and men al ac i i ies (Pin ich and Schunk 2007), and a ises as an in e ac ion
be ween mo i es (inne needs and indi idual ac o s) and incen i es (si ua ional ac o s).
Mo i a ion o membe s o pa icipa e in online communi ies is one o he mos c i ical ac o s
o success in i ual en i ies. I de e mines he quali y and quan i y, as well as he selec ion and
modi ica ion o con ibu ions (Fülle , Jawecki, and Mühlbache 2007;Janzik and He s a 2008).
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Issues and esea ch ends on OSS communi ies 61
The mo i es ha induce use s o con ibu e o an open-sou ce p ojec o ee, and he mecha-
nisms by which asks can be e ec i ely ca ied ou by he open-sou ce communi y a e cu en ly
a subjec o s udy o bo h p ac i ione s and academics. P oposed mo i es include al uism;
incen i es o suppo one’s communi y; epu a ion-enhancemen bene i s ecei ed by in o ma-
ion p o ide s and expec a ions o bene i s om ecip ocal helping beha iou by o he s (Lakhani
and on Hippel 2003). Acco ding o he sel -de e mina ion heo y (Deci and Ryan 1985), ex in-
sic and in insic mo i a ions can be dis inguished (Janzik and He s a 2008;Os e loh and Ro a
2007). Ex insic mo i a ion e e s o indi ec sa is ac ion o needs, h ough mone a y compen-
sa ion, epu a ion o so wa e accommoda ion o he use s’ needs. They a e based on ex e nal
incen i es. In insic mo i a ion e e s o immedia e sa is ac ion o needs, including p og am-
ming o un and c ea i e pleasu e, al uism, sense o belonging o open-sou ce communi y and
willingness o ake pa in he igh o so wa e eedom.
The cen al ques ion om a esea ch pe spec i e is, why use s decide o con ibu e o open-
sou ce communi ies? Mo e speci ically, esea ch wo ks y o answe how hese men ioned
mo i a ions ope a e, how hey a e in e ela ed and how hei p inciples can be used o p ac ical
u ili y. As he open-sou ce mo emen g ows, i becomes impo an o unde s and he dynamics
ha a ec he mo i a ion o he pa icipan s who con ibu e hei ime eely o such p ojec s.
In gene al, esul s om di e en s udies do no ag ee on which one o he ex insic o in insic
mo i a ions is he main d i e o use pa icipa ion. Howe e , a huge amoun o esea ch iden i-
ies in insic mo i a o s as he key d i e s o pa icipa ion and con ibu ion (Fülle , Jawecki, and
Mühlbache 2007;Ha s and Ou 2002;He el, Niedne , and He mann 2003;Lakhani and on
Hippel 2003).
Mo i a ion issues a e mainly included in jou nals ela ed o he Managemen and Compu e
Science and In o ma ion Sys ems. Me hodologies a e ypically based on su eys and da a p ocess-
ing using se e al s a is ical echniques, like linea o logis ic eg ession analysis, ac o analysis
and SEM o de i e esea ch models.
Sha ed knowledge
Knowledge is buil up by in eg a ing in o ma ion, expe ience and heo y. Taci knowledge can only
be sha ed by in e pe sonal means while explici knowledge can be deli e ed ia echnology-d i en
o s uc u ed p ocesses. Se e al au ho s claim ha knowledge sha ing is one o he mos impo an
ac o s a ec ing o ganisa ional agili y and pe o mance o i ual communi ies (Khali a, Yan Yu,
and Ning Shen 2008;Zammu o e al. 2007).
Indi iduals pa icipa ing in i ual communi ies sha e o exchange knowledge i he pe sonal
pe cei ed bene i compensa es he pe cei ed loss o aluable knowledge. Fu he mo e, knowledge
sha ing equi es he e o o he indi iduals who do he sha ing and a e in ol ed in he social
p ocess (Chang and Chuang 2011). Sha ing knowledge is a syne gis ic p ocess – ‘you ge mo e ou
han you pu in’, and ‘knowledge is c ea ed by each indi idual in hei own mind, and i is o li le
alue o an en e p ise unless i is sha ed’. Fou mechanisms o sha ing indi idual knowledge in an
o ganisa ion a e: (1) con ibu ing knowledge o o ganisa ional da abases; (2) sha ing knowledge in
o mal in e ac ions wi hin o ac oss eams o wo k uni s; (3) sha ing knowledge in in o mal in e -
ac ions and (4) sha ing knowledge wi hin communi ies o p ac ice (Ba ol and S i a a a 2002).
In he OSS communi y, use s lea n om he es o he membe s and complemen he com-
mon knowledge (Fülle , Jawecki, and Mühlbache 2007), and he dissemina ed knowledge will
encou age o he communi y membe s o build upon his idea (Heme sbe ge and Reinha d 2004).
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62 M.R. Ma inez-To es and M.C. Diaz-Fe nandez
Knowledge sha ing, ha i s pe ec ly he knowledge as s a egically impo an esou ce
pe spec i e, has also become an impo an domain in he s a egic managemen ield.
Resea ch in his ield in es iga es he pa icipan s’ beha iou and in e ac i e ela ionships
o de e mine hei e ec on knowledge sha ing (Chang and Chuang 2011), as well as he
ela ionship be ween knowledge sha ing beha iou s and pe o mance. In gene al, mos o he
s udies in his ield a e ocused on he in luence o knowledge sha ing in i ual communi y
ou comes.
Ob ained esul s ha e iden i ied al uism, iden i ica ion, ecip oci y and sha ed language as
hose ac o s wi h a posi i e e ec on knowledge sha ing. On he o he hand, epu a ion, social
in e ac ion and us ha e been p o en o cause a posi i e e ec on he quali y, bu no he quan i y,
o sha ed knowledge. Finally, pa icipan in ol emen has a mode a ing e ec on he ela ionship
o al uism and he quan i y o sha ed knowledge (Chang and Chuang 2011). Some o he s udies
ha e concluded co ela ions be ween sha ed knowledge and use s eplying ac i i y, indi idual
pe o mance and i ual communi y ou comes.
This opic is mainly ea ed in jou nals ela ed o he Business and Compu e Science and
In o ma ion Sys ems. Me hodologies include desc ip i e s a is ical analysis, con i ma o y ac o
analysis, and mul iple eg ession analysis and knowledge maps.
Lea ning
The communi y-based de elopmen o OSS is based on he social lea ning heo y, which pos u-
la es ha lea ning is a social p ocess, placing lea ning in he con ex o he social expe ience o
indi iduals. Lea ning equi es he pa icipa ion o indi iduals inside a communi y, in con as o
he adi ional idea o conside ing lea ning as an indi idual p ocess and as a esul o a each-
ing. This is he case o open-sou ce communi ies, whe e people can eely pos hei ques ions
ela ed o he unde lying so wa e and ecei e some solu ions o al e na i es om someone else
o he communi y (Wenge 1998). Knowledge is hen acqui ed as a esul o he in e ac ions
among people h ough he discussions abou a pa icula opic. These discussions a e equen ly
s o ed and hey a e publicly a ailable, so people can consul p e iously discussed opics and
ind an answe o a pa icula p oblem. So, no only does OSS de elopmen exempli y a iable
so wa e de elopmen app oach, bu also a model o he c ea ion o sel -lea ning communi ies
(Ma inez-To es e al. 2010). The amoun and he quali y o he lea ning oppo uni ies inc ease
h ough he indi idual in ol emen in he p ojec in OSS. Lea ning oppo uni ies a e ep esen ed
by he access o so wa e sou ce code, he echnical discussions wi h expe s’ pee s o he di ec
eedback o one’s own wo k (Spae h e al. 2008).
P e ious wo ks in his ield desc ibe he p ocess known as legi ima e pe iphe al pa icipa ion
(La e, Wenge , and Pea 1991). This is he p ocess by which indi iduals lea n how o unc ion as
a communi y membe h ough pa icipa ion in he communi y, enabling hem o acqui e he lan-
guage, alues and no ms o he communi y. Lea ning is hen g adually achie ed as he indi idual
mo es om being a no ice, gaining access o communi y p ac ices, o comple e socialisa ion and
he e o e becoming an inside o ull membe o he communi y. The legi imisa ion p ocess o
a communi y is he e o e comple ely di e en o he legi imisa ion gained h ough hie a chical
s a us in mo e o mal g oups such as a eam.
Resea ch esul s ha e been ocused on modelling he pa icipa ion p ocess inside a communi y,
ex ac ing he main p o iles o use s acco ding o hei pa icipa ion ea u es o he an eceden s
wi h a signi ican in luence o e he global pa icipa ion inside he communi y. This opic is
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Issues and esea ch ends on OSS communi ies 63
basically ea ed in jou nals ela ed o Compu e Science, In o ma ion Sys ems and Educa ion.
Me hodologies include su eys among OSS p ac i ione s and explo a o y ac o analysis o ex ac
pa icipa ion pa e ns.
Inno a ion
Decades o esea ch on inno a ion ha e ocused on pa e ns o p oduc de elopmen loca ed in
hie a chical o ms o o ganisa ion and compe i i e ma ke s (Damanpou 1991), bu mo e ecen
ad ances in echnology ha e shi ed he locus o inno a ion o i ual communi ies (Chesb ough
2007; on Hippel 2001;Lakhani and on Hippel 2003;Spae h e al. 2008).
The inno a ion p ocess has been de ined as ‘ he in en ion and implemen a ion o new ideas,
which a e de eloped by people, who engage in ansac ions wi h o he s o e ime wi hin an
ins i u ional con ex , and who judge ou comes o hei e o s and ac acco dingly’ (Van de Ven
and Poole 1990). This de ini ion b ings in o pe spec i e he h ee undamen al ene s o he
inno a ion esea ch: people, ansac ions and ins i u ional con ex .
The de elopmen o OSS is an inno a ion p ocess ha combines dis ibu ed p oblem sol ing
and pa icipan in ol emen wi hin a i ual communi y.
Wo king wi h OSS communi y, he schola s ha e concep ualised he inno a ion p ocess in wo
ways: i s , as a p i a e–collec i e model (Ga iga e al. 2012; on Hipple and on K ogh 2003),
and second, as a se ies o s ages ha un old o e ime: he gene a ion o ideas and concep s; he
design and enginee ing s age and es and launch s age (Fülle e al. 2006).
Ne e heless, in use inno a ion communi ies, membe s ge in con ac wi h he pee g oup
membe s, and ac i ely discuss he p o ided ideas, o e possible solu ions, u he elabo a e and
es hem o jus gi e hei opinion. This engagemen c ea es a common unde s anding abou
he inno a ion and new sha e/common knowledge eme ges (Ma inez-To es 2013;Sawhney
and P andelli 2000). The inno a o lea ns om he communi y and complemen s he common
knowledge (Fulle e al. 2007). In addi ion, he dissemina ed knowledge will encou age o he
communi y membe s o build upon his idea (Heme sbe ge and Reinha d 2004). Vi ual com-
muni ies o inno a ion ha e been examined as an inno a i e ins umen o cus ome in eg a ion
and a s a egy o open inno a ion (Roh beck, S einho , and Pe de 2010).
Open-sou ce communi ies a e inno a i e online communi ies, some o which ha e ecen ly
a ac ed inc easing a en ion (Heme sbe ge and Reinha d 2006). The e a e ew heo e ical
and empi ical insigh s in o he p ocesses h ough which i ual communi ies inno a e. A he
b oades le el o analysis, he de elopmen o his p ocess o inno a ion in i ual communi ies
aises beha iou al and mo i a ional ques ions abou why indi iduals con ibu e o he inno a ion
p ocess ( on K ogh, Spä h, and Lakhani 2003), highligh ing he ole o epu a ion and s a us
(Raymond 1999), he unde lying ee so wa e ideology (S allman 1998) and enjoymen and
c ea i i y (Goldschmid 2005;Lakhani and Wol 2005).
In line wi h i s g owing ele ance, he numbe o yea ly publica ions on his opic has been g ow-
ing along wi h ci a ions o he publica ions (Janzik and He s a 2008;Laine 2009). This opic has
been basically ea ed in jou nals ela ed o he Managemen , Business and Economics. Me hod-
ologies include s udies so di e se such as analyses o cases o de e mine how he i ual communi y
inno a es o how does inno a ion occu in he OSS communi y. Thei li e a u e e iews ge a
comp ehensi e de ini ion o i ual communi ies o inno a ion and de elop a amewo k o he
in e ac ion o companies wi h i ual communi ies. The me hodology used e e s o ac o analysis
and bibliome ics analysis, o de e mine how i ms inco po a e open inno a ion p inciples online.
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