Strategic Release and Co-creation: Empirical Insights for Managing Open-Source Software

References

• Aguirregabiria V, Mira P (2010) Dynamic discrete choice structural models: A survey. J. Econom. 156(1):38–67.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Allon G, Askalidis G, Berry R, Immorlica N, Moon K, Singh A (2022) When to be agile: Ratings and version updates in mobile apps. Management Sci. 68(6):4261–4278.Link, Google Scholar
• Arcidiacono P, Miller RA (2011) Conditional choice probability estimation of dynamic discrete choice models with unobserved heterogeneity. Econometrica 79(6):1823–1867.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Asay M (2013) Is Facebook the world’s largest open source company? Accessed October 1, 2021, https://readwrite.com/2013/10/17/is-facebook-the-worlds-largest-open-source-company/.Google Scholar
• August T, Niculescu MF (2013) The influence of software process maturity and customer error reporting on software release and pricing. Management Sci. 59(12):2702–2726.Link, Google Scholar
• Bayus BL, Jain S, Rao AG (1997) Too little, too early: Introduction timing and new product performance in the personal digital assistant industry. J. Marketing Res. 34(1):50–63.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Borges H, Valente MT (2018) What’s in a GitHub star? Understanding repository starring practices in a social coding platform. J. Systems Software 146:112–129.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Borges H, Hora A, Valente MT (2016) Understanding the factors that impact the popularity of GitHub repositories. 2016 IEEE Internat. Conf. Software Maintenance Evolution ICSME (IEEE, Piscataway, NJ), 334–344.Google Scholar
• Browne R (2023) Microsoft reportedly plans to invest $10 billion in creator of buzzy A.I. tool ChatGPT. Accessed March 6, 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/10/microsoft-to-invest-10-billion-in-chatgpt-creator-openai-report-says.html.Google Scholar
• Brynjolfsson E, Li D, Raymond L (2025) Generative AI at work. Quart. J. Econom. 140(2):889–942.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Chen W, Jin F, Xue L (2022) Flourish or perish? The impact of technological acquisitions on contributions to open-source software. Inform. Systems Res. 33(3):867–886.Link, Google Scholar
• Chen W, Wei X, Zhu KX (2018) Engaging voluntary contributions in online communities: A hidden Markov model. MIS Quart. 42(1):83–100.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Cohen MA, Eliasberg J, Ho T-H (1996) New product development: The performance and time-to-market tradeoff. Management Sci. 42(2):173–186.Link, Google Scholar
• Colazo J, Fang Y (2009) Impact of license choice on Open Source Software development activity. J. Amer. Soc. Inform. Sci. Tech. 60(5):997–1011.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Crowston K, Wei K, Howison J, Wiggins A (2008) Free/Libre open-source software development: What we know and what we do not know. ACM Comput. Surveys 44(2):7.Google Scholar
• Cui KZ, Demirer M, Jaffe S, Musolff L, Peng S, Salz T (2026) The effects of generative AI on high-skilled work: Evidence from three field experiments with software developers. Management Sci., ePub ahead of print February 27, https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2025.00535.Link, Google Scholar
• De los Santos B, Koulayev S (2017) Optimizing click-through in online rankings with endogenous search refinement. Marketing Sci. 36(4):542–564.Link, Google Scholar
• Dean J, Monga R (2015) TensorFlow - Google’s latest machine learning system, open sourced for everyone. Accessed May 29, 2026, https://research.google/blog/tensorflow-googles-latest-machine-learning-system-open-sourced-for-everyone/.Google Scholar
• Ellickson PB, Misra S (2008) Supermarket pricing strategies. Marketing Sci. 27(5):811–828.Link, Google Scholar
• Feller J, Finnegan P, Fitzgerald B, Hayes J (2008) From peer production to productization: A study of socially enabled business exchanges in open source service networks. Inform. Systems Res. 19(4):475–493.Link, Google Scholar
• Finley K (2013) Apple’s operating system guru goes back to his roots. Wired (August 8), https://www.wired.com/2013/08/jordan-hubbard/.Google Scholar
• Gitnux (2023) Open source software statistics. Accessed June 13, 2023, https://blog.gitnux.com/open-source-software-statistics/.Google Scholar
• Gonzalez D, Zimmermann T, Nagappan N (2020) The state of the ML-universe: 10 years of artificial intelligence & machine learning software development on GitHub. Proc. 17th Internat. Conf. Mining Software Repositories (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 431–442.Google Scholar
• Gousios G, Spinellis D (2017) Mining software engineering data from GitHub. Proc. 39th Internat. Conf. Software Engrg. Companion. ICSE-C ‘17 (IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ), 501–502.Google Scholar
• Gu Z, Bapna R, Chan J, Gupta A (2022) Measuring the impact of crowdsourcing features on mobile app user engagement and retention: A randomized field experiment. Management Sci. 68(2):1297–1329.Link, Google Scholar
• Guizani M, Chatterjee A, Trinkenreich B, May ME, Noa-Guevara GJ, Russell LJ, Cuevas Zambrano GG, et al. (2021) The long road ahead: Ongoing challenges in contributing to large OSS organizations and what to do. Proc. ACM Human Comput. Interactions 5(CSCW2):407.Google Scholar
• Hann I-H, Roberts JA, Slaughter SA (2013) All are not equal: An examination of the economic returns to different forms of participation in open source software communities. Inform. Systems Res. 24(3):520–538.Link, Google Scholar
• He H, Yang H, Burckhardt P, Kapravelos A, Vasilescu B, Kästner C (2026) Six million (suspected) fake stars on GitHub: A growing spiral of popularity contests, spam, and malware. Proc. 48th Internat. Conf. Software Engrg. ICSE’26 (ACM, New York), 1–13.Google Scholar
• Howe J (2006) The rise of crowdsourcing. Wired (June 1), https://www.wired.com/2006/06/crowds/.Google Scholar
• Huang A, Huang N, Hong Y (2026) Workflow automation in open-source software development: Accelerating innovation through mechanization and orchestration. Inform. Systems Res., ePub ahead of print January 12, https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2024.1551.Link, Google Scholar
• Imai S, Jain N, Ching A (2009) Bayesian estimation of dynamic discrete choice models. Econometrica 77(6):1865–1899.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Kaushik N, Gokpinar B (2023) Sequential innovation in mobile app development. Manufacturing Service Oper. Management 25(1):182–199.Link, Google Scholar
• Kazmi R (2023) The importance of open source for blockchain technology. Accessed December 15, 2023, https://www.koombea.com/blog/importance-open-source-blockchain-technology/.Google Scholar
• Khajeh-Hosseini A (2021) GitHub stars matter—Here’s why. Accessed April 15, 2025, https://www.infracost.io/blog/github-stars-matter-here-is-why/.Google Scholar
• Klastorin T, Tsai W (2004) New product introduction: Timing, design, and pricing. Manufacturing Service Oper. Management 6(4):302–320.Link, Google Scholar
• Krishnamurthy S, Ou S, Tripathi AK (2014) Acceptance of monetary rewards in open source software development. Res. Policy 43(4):632–644.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Lardinois F, Lunden I (2018) Microsoft has acquired GitHub for $7.5B in stock. Accessed May 29, 2026, https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-has-acquired-github-for-7-5b-in-microsoft-stock/.Google Scholar
• Magnac T, Thesmar D (2002) Identifying dynamic discrete decision processes. Econometrica 70(2):801–816.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Medappa PK, Srivastava SC (2019) Does superposition influence the success of FLOSS projects? An examination of open-source software development by organizations and individuals. Inform. Systems Res. 30(3):764–786.Link, Google Scholar
• Mockus A, Fielding RT, Herbsleb JD (2002) Two case studies of open source software development: Apache and Mozilla. ACM Trans. Software Engrg. Methodology TOSEM 11(3):309–346.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Nagle F (2019) Open source software and firm productivity. Management Sci. 65(3):1191–1215.Link, Google Scholar
• Nambisan S (2002) Designing virtual customer environments for new product development: Toward a theory. Acad. Management Rev. 27(3):392–413.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Newbart D (2001) Microsoft CEO takes launch break with the Sun-Times. Chicago Sun-Times (June 1).Google Scholar
• Noy S, Zhang W (2023) Experimental evidence on the productivity effects of generative artificial intelligence. Science 381(6654):187–192.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Okumoto K, Goel AL (1979) Optimum release time for software systems based on reliability and cost criteria. J. Systems Software 1:315–318.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Özer Ö, Uncu O (2013) Competing on time: An integrated framework to optimize dynamic time-to-market and production decisions. Production Oper. Management 22(3):473–488.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Peng S, Kalliamvakou E, Cihon P, Demirer M (2023) The impact of AI on developer productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot. Preprint, submitted February 13, https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.06590.Google Scholar
• Poo-Caamaño G, Singer L, Knauss E, German DM (2016) Herding cats: A case study of release management in an open collaboration ecosystem. Open Source Systems Integrating Communities OSS 2016, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol. 472 (Springer, Cham, Switzerland), 147–162.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Roberts JA, Hann IH, Slaughter SA (2006) Understanding the motivations, participation, and performance of open source software developers: A longitudinal study of the Apache projects. Management Sci. 52(7):984–999.Link, Google Scholar
• Ruhe G, Saliu MO (2005) The art and science of software release planning. IEEE Software 22(6):47–53.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Rust J (1987) Optimal replacement of GMC bus engines: An empirical model of Harold Zurcher. Econometrica 55(5):999–1033.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Saroar SG, Nayebi M (2023) Developers’ perception of GitHub actions: A survey analysis. Proc. 27th Internat. Conf. Evaluation Assessment Software Engrg. (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 121–130.Google Scholar
• Setia P, Rajagopalan B, Sambamurthy V, Calantone R (2012) How peripheral developers contribute to open-source software development. Inform. Systems Res. 23(1):144–163.Link, Google Scholar
• Song F, Agarwal A, Wen W (2024) The impact of generative AI on collaborative open-source software development: Evidence from GitHub Copilot. Preprint, submitted October 2, https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.02091v1.Google Scholar
• Sorkin AR, Peters JW (2006) Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion. New York Times (October 9), https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/business/09cnd-deal.html.Google Scholar
• Stewart KJ, Gosain S (2006) The impact of ideology on effectiveness in open source software development teams. MIS Quart. 30(2):291–314.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Tsay J, Dabbish L, Herbsleb J (2014) Influence of social and technical factors for evaluating contribution in GitHub. Proc. 36th Internat. Conf. Software Engrg. (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 356–366.Google Scholar
• Underwood S (2016) Blockchain beyond bitcoin. Commun. ACM 59(11):15–17.Crossref, Google Scholar
• von Hippel E, von Krogh G (2003) Open source software and the “private-collective” innovation model: Issues for organization science. Organ. Sci. 14(2):209–223.Link, Google Scholar
• Wasko MM, Faraj S (2005) Why should I share? Examining social capital and knowledge contribution in electronic networks of practice. MIS Quart. 29(1):35–58.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Wilson LO, Norton JA (1989) Optimal entry timing for a product line extension. Marketing Sci. 8(1):1–17.Link, Google Scholar
• Wooldridge JM (2010) Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, 2nd ed. (The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA).Google Scholar
• Yeverechyahu D, Mayya R, Oestreicher-Singer G (2024) The impact of large language models on open-source innovation: Evidence from GitHub Copilot. Preprint, submitted September 12, https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.08379v1.Google Scholar
• Zhang C, Hahn J, De P (2013) Continued participation in online innovation communities: Does community response matter equally for everyone? Inform. Systems Res. 24(4):1112–1130.Link, Google Scholar
• Zhang Y, Li B, Luo X, Wang X (2019) Personalized mobile targeting with user engagement stages: Combining a structural hidden Markov model and field experiment. Inform. Systems Res. 30(3):787–804.Link, Google Scholar
• Zheng S (2002) Dynamic release policies for software systems with a reliability constraint. IIE Trans. 34(3):253–262.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Zhu KX, Zhou ZZ (2012) Research note—Lock-in strategy in software competition: Open-source software vs. proprietary software. Inform. Systems Res. 23(2):536–545.Link, Google Scholar