Open Source Software and the Digital Divide

IEEE Software, 2001

The term Open Source is widely applied to describe some software development methodologies. This paper does not provide a judgment on the open source approach, but exposes the fact that simply stating that a project is open source does not provide a precise description of the approach used to support the project. By taking a multidisciplinary point of view, we propose a collection of characteristics that are common, as well as some that vary among open source projects. The set of open source characteristics we found can be used as a tick-list both for analysing and for setting up open source projects. Our tick-list also provides a starting point for understanding the many meanings of the term open source.

The need for rigorous academic investigation into open source software (OSS) is pronounced. If the media hype surrounding the topic since 1998 has a kernel of truth, then OSS promises to revolutionise the ways in which organizations build, sell, buy, use and exploit software systems. Needless to say, that's a big "if". This panel, which takes the form of a debate, will provide audience members with an up-to-date understanding of OSS built upon the emerging research literature, and detailed arguments both for and against the assertion that open source is revolutionising the software industry.

IFIP — The International Federation for Information Processing, 2007

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Communications of the Association for Information Systems

With the emergence of free and open source software (F/OSS) projects (e.g. Linux) as serious contenders to well-established proprietary software, advocates of F/OSS are quick to generalize the superiority of this approach to software development. On the other hand, some wellestablished software development firms view F/OSS as a threat and vociferously refute the claims of F/OSS advocates. This article represents a tutorial on F/OSS that tries objectively to identify and present open source software's concepts, benefits, and challenges. From our point of view, F/OSS is more than just software. We conceptualize it as an IPO system that consists of the license as the boundary of the system, the community that provides the input, the development process, and the software as the output. After describing the evolution and definition of F/OSS, we identify three approaches to benefiting from F/OSS that center on (1) the software, (2) the community, and (3) the license respectively. Each approach is fit for a specific situation and provides a unique set of benefits and challenges. We further illustrate our points by refuting common misconceptions associated with F/OSS based upon our conceptual framework.

2003

Abstract The need for rigorous academic investigation into open source software (OSS) is pronounced. If the media hype surrounding the topic since 1998 has a kernel of truth, then OSS promises to revolutionise the ways in which organizations build, sell, buy, use and exploit software systems. Needless to say, that'sa big “if”.

RECIIS, 2009

Annals of Business Administrative Science, 2023

Since the emergence of free software in the 1980s, the belief that software should be free has been quite widely held. During this period, the software developers took the leading role. As the 1990s began, there was a notable increase in the number of general users of open source software. Furthermore, developers and distro developers (who acted as both licensors and licensees, as well as users and developers) began to take a more active role in driving the direction of open source development. This period marked the emergence of the open source era, characterized by a greater convenience for distro developers. However, in the 2010s, the importance of platforms increased and previous control on licensing diminished. In other words, the history of free software and open source has been the history of how the parties holding the business initiative have been changing at each period.

LEM Papers Series, 2002

This research report analyses several issues on the economics and management of Open Source Software (OSS). It offers an historical description of the emergence of OSS and of heterogeneous types of actors involved in the OSS phenomenon. From a theoretical perspective the paper discusses some crucial topics: the organization and performance of the development process in open source and traditional proprietary models, the incentives to innovation in different regimes of intellectual property protection, the ingredients of business models based on open source software. From an empirical perspective it presents some data on the diffusion of open source software in some segments of the software market and develops a detailed comparison of open source and proprietary licensing models, also drawing some implications on the use of different types of open source licences in the commercial market.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2009

How does open source development work and how can profit-oriented firms harness this new way of production? These are the two main questions we investigate in this report. Reviewing the academic literature, we give a comprehensive survey of the state of the art in economic research on open source software. We first look at the motives of individual contributors and the organizational structures that emerge in open source projects. These are particularly interesting since open source software is a complex public good: non-rivalrous and, to a certain degree, non-excludable. Under normal circumstances, economic theory leads us to believe that free-riding and problems in coordination are prime obstacles in the collective provision of open source software. In the second part of this report, we consider the different business models based on open source software and, lastly, we look at the reasons for corporate contributions. Contrary to the private provision of open source software, its general corporate provision cannot be explained with altruism or group membership. Because ultimately, firms contribute in open source projects for a reason: to make a profit.