Open at the Core: Moving from Proprietary Technology to Building a Product on Open Source Software

References

• Aghion P, Bloom N, Blundell R, Griffith R, Howitt P (2005) Competition and innovation: An inverted-u relationship. Quart. J. Econom. 120(2):701–728.Google Scholar
• Altman EJ, Nagle F, Tushman ML (2022) The translucent hand of managed ecosystems: Engaging communities for value creation and capture. Acad. Management Ann. 16(1):70–101.Crossref, Google Scholar
• August T, Chen W, Zhu K (2020) Competition among proprietary and open-source software firms: The role of licensing in strategic contribution. Management Sci. 67(5):3041–3066.Link, Google Scholar
• August T, Shin H, Tunca TI (2013) Licensing and competition for services in open source software. Inform. Systems Res. 24(4):1068–1086.Link, Google Scholar
• August T, Shin H, Tunca TI (2017) Generating value through open source: Software service market regulation and licensing policy. Inform. Systems Res. 29(1):186–205.Link, Google Scholar
• Baldwin CY, Clark KB (2006) The architecture of participation: Does code architecture mitigate free riding in the open source development model? Management Sci. 52(7):1116–1127.Link, Google Scholar
• Baron J, Kanevskaia O (2023) Wearing multiple hats – The role of working group chairs’ affiliation in standards development. Res. Policy 52(9):104822.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Belenzon S, Schankerman M (2015) Motivation and sorting of human capital in open innovation. Strategic Management J. 36(6):795–820.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Bitzer J, Geishecker I (2010) Who contributes voluntarily to OSS? An investigation among German IT employees. Res. Policy 39(1):165–172.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Boudreau KJ (2021) Promoting platform takeoff and self-fulfilling expectations: Field experimental evidence. Management Sci. 67(9):5953–5967.Link, Google Scholar
• Boudreau KJ, Jeppesen LB (2015) Unpaid crowd complementors: The platform network effect mirage. Strategic Management J. 36(12):1761–1777.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Bresnahan TF, Yin PL (2006) Standard Setting in Markets: The Browser War (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK), 18–59.Google Scholar
• Burtch G, Ghose A, Wattal S (2013) An empirical examination of the antecedents and consequences of contribution patterns in crowd-funded markets. Inform. Systems Res. 24(3):499–519.Link, Google Scholar
• Caloghirou Y, Ioannides S, Vonortas NS (2003) Research joint ventures. J. Econom. Surveys 17(4):541–570.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Casadesus-Masanell R, Ghemawat P (2006) Dynamic mixed duopoly: A model motivated by Linux vs. Windows. Management Sci. 52(7):1072–1084.Link, Google Scholar
• Chen J, Roth J (2024) Logs with zeros? Some problems and solutions. Quart. J. Econom. 139(2):891–936.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Chen J, Doraszelski U, Harrington JE (2009) Avoiding market dominance: Product compatibility in markets with network effects. RAND J. Econom. 40(3):455–485.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Chen W, Jin F, Xue L (2021) Flourish or perish? The impact of technological acquisitions on contributions to open-source software. Inform. Systems Res. 33(3):867–886.Link, Google Scholar
• Chesbrough H (2023) Measuring the Economic Value of Open Source: A Survey and a Preliminary Analysis (The Linux Foundation, San Francisco).Crossref, Google Scholar
• Conti A, Peukert C, Roche MP (2025) Beefing it up for your investor? Engagement with open source communities, innovation, and startup funding: Evidence from github. Organ. Sci. Forthcoming.Google Scholar
• Dubé J-PH, Hitsch GJ, Chintagunta PK (2010) Tipping and concentration in markets with indirect network effects. Marketing Sci. 29(2):216–249.Link, Google Scholar
• Economides N, Katsamakas E (2006) Two-sided competition of proprietary vs. open source technology platforms and the implications for the software industry. Management Sci. 52(7):1057–1071.Link, Google Scholar
• Foerderer J, Kude T, Mithas S, Heinzl A (2018) Does platform owner’s entry crowd out innovation? Evidence from google photos. Inform. Systems Res. 29(2):444–460.Link, Google Scholar
• Folta TB (1998) Governance and uncertainty: The trade-off between administrative control and commitment. Strategic Management J. 19(11):1007–1028.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Fosfuri A, Giarratana MS, Luzzi A (2008) The penguin has entered the building: The commercialization of open source software products. Organ. Sci. 19(2):292–305.Link, Google Scholar
• Gambardella A, von Hippel E (2019) Open sourcing as a profit-maximizing strategy for downstream firms. Strategy Sci. 4(1):41–57.Link, Google Scholar
• Goettler RL, Gordon BR (2014) Competition and product innovation in dynamic oligopoly. Quant. Marketing Econom. 12:1–42.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Gonzalez D, Zimmermann T, Nagappan N (2020) The state of the ml-universe. Proc. 17th Internat. Conf. Mining Software Repositories, 431–442.Google Scholar
• Greenstein S, Nagle F (2014) Digital dark matter and the economic contribution of apache. Res. Policy 43:623–631.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Grimpe C, Kaiser U (2010) Balancing internal and external knowledge acquisition: The gains and pains from R&D outsourcing. J. Management Stud. 47(8):1483–1509.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Gross DP (2020) Collusive investments in technological compatibility: Lessons from us railroads in the late 19th century. Management Sci. 66(12):5683–5700.Link, Google Scholar
• Haefliger S, von Krogh G, Spaeth S (2007) Code reuse in open source software. Management Sci. 54(1):180–193.Link, Google Scholar
• Hanaki N, Nakajima R, Ogura Y (2010) The dynamics of R&D network in the it industry. Res. Policy 39(3):386–399.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Hann IH, 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
• Horton JJ, Tambe P (2025) The death of a technical skill. Inform. Systems Res. Forthcoming.Google Scholar
• Iansiti M, Richard GL (2006) The business of free software: Enterprise incentives, investment, and motivation in the open source community. Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 07-028.Google Scholar
• Jeppesen LB, Frederiksen L (2006) Why do users contribute to firm-hosted user communities? The case of computer-controlled music instruments. Organ. Sci. 17(1):45–63.Link, Google Scholar
• Johnson JP (2002) Open source software: Private provision of a public good. J. Econom. Management Strategy 11(4):637–662.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Kamien MI, Muller E, Zang I (1992) Research joint ventures and R&D cartels. Amer. Econom. Rev. 82(5):1293–1306.Google Scholar
• Karhu K, Ritala P (2021) Slicing the cake without baking it: Opportunistic platform entry strategies in digital markets. Long Range Planning 54(5):101988.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Katz R, Allen TJ (1982) Investigating the not invented here (NIH) syndrome: A look at the performance, tenure, and communication patterns of 50 R&D project groups. R&D Management 12(1):7–20.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Kochhar PS, Kalliamvakou E, Nagappan N, Zimmermann T, Bird C (2019) Moving from closed to open source: Observations from six transitioned projects to GitHub. IEEE Trans. Software Engrg. 47(9):1838–1856.Google Scholar
• Laursen K, Salter AJ (2014) The paradox of openness: Appropriability, external search and collaboration. Res. Policy 43(5):867–878.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Leone MI, Reichstein T (2012) Licensing-in fosters rapid invention! The effect of the grant-back clause and technological unfamiliarity. Strategic Management J. 33(8):965–985.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Lerner J, Tirole J (2002) Some simple economics of open source. J. Indust. Econom. 50(2):197–234.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Lifshitz-Assaf H, Nagle F (2021) The digital economy runs on open source. Here’s how to protect it. Harvard Business Review (September 2), https://hbr.org/2021/09/the-digital-economy-runs-on-open-source-heres-how-to-protect-it.Google Scholar
• Lin Y-K, Maruping LM (2022) Open source collaboration in digital entrepreneurship. Organ. Sci. 33(1):212–230.Link, Google Scholar
• Loh J, Kretschmer T (2023) Online communities on competing platforms: Evidence from game wikis. Strategic Management J. 44(2):441–476.Crossref, Google Scholar
• MacCormack A, Rusnak J, Baldwin CY (2006) Exploring the structure of complex software designs: An empirical study of open source and proprietary code. Management Sci. 52(7):1015–1030.Link, Google Scholar
• Maillart T, Zhao M, Grossklags J, Chuang J (2017) Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow? Revisiting Eric Raymond with bug bounty programs. J. Cybersecurity 3(2):81–90.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Malladi SS, Subramanian HC (2020) Bug bounty programs for cybersecurity: Practices, issues, and recommendations. IEEE Software 37(1):31–39.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Miric M, Jeppesen LB (2023) How does competition influence innovative effort within a platform-based ecosystem? Contrasting paid and unpaid contributors. Res. Policy 52(7):104790.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Mollick E (2016) Filthy lucre? Innovative communities, identity, and commercialization. Organ. Sci. 27(6):1472–1487.Link, Google Scholar
• Nagaraj A, Piezunka H (2024) The divergent effect of competition on platforms: Deterring recruits, motivating converts. Strategy Sci. 9(3):277–296.Link, Google Scholar
• Nagle F (2018) Learning by contributing: Gaining competitive advantage through contribution to crowdsourced public goods. Organ. Sci. 29(4):569–587.Link, Google Scholar
• Nagle F (2019) Open source software and firm productivity. Management Sci. 65(3):1191–1215.Link, Google Scholar
• Nagle F, Seamans R, Tadelis S (2024) Transaction cost economics in the digital economy: A research agenda. Strategic Organ. 23(2):351–365.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Raymond E (1999) The cathedral and the bazaar. Knowledge Tech. Policy 12(3):23–49.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Reisinger M, Ressner L, Schmidtke R, Thomes TP (2014) Crowding-in of complementary contributions to public goods: Firm investment into open source software. J. Econom. Behav. Organ. 106:78–94.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Rothaermel FT, Hitt MA, Jobe LA (2006) Balancing vertical integration and strategic outsourcing: Effects on product portfolio, product success, and firm performance. Strategic Management J. 27(11):1033–1056.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Simcoe T, Watson J (2019) Forking, fragmentation, and splintering. Strategy Sci. 4(4):283–297.Link, Google Scholar
• Song P, Xue L, Rai A, Cheng Z (2018) The ecosystem of software platform: A study of asymmetric cross-side network effects. MIS Quart. 42(1):121–142.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Spaeth S, von Krogh G, He F (2014) Research note—Perceived firm attributes and intrinsic motivation in sponsored open source software projects. Inform. Systems Res. 26(1):224–237.Link, Google Scholar
• Spinellis D (2008) A tale of four kernels. Proc. Internat. Conf. Software Engrg. 381–390.Google Scholar
• Spinellis D (2011) Quality wars: Open source versus proprietary software. Oram A, Wilson G, eds. Making Software: What Really Works, and Why We Believe It (O’Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA), 259–293. Google Scholar
• Stam W (2009) When does community participation enhance the performance of open source software companies? Res. Policy 38(8):1288–1299.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Stewart KJ, Ammeter AP, Maruping LM (2006) Impacts of license choice and organizational sponsorship on user interest and development activity in open source software projects. Inform. Systems Res. 17(2):126–144.Link, Google Scholar
• Tellis GJ, Yin E, Niraj R (2009) Does quality win? Network effects versus quality in high-tech markets. J. Marketing Res. 46(2):135–149.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Tiwana A (2015) Evolutionary competition in platform ecosystems. Inform. Systems Res. 26(2):266–281.Link, 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
• von Krogh G, Haefliger S, Spaeth S, Wallin MW (2012) Carrots and rainbows: Motivation and social practice in open source software development. MIS Quart. 36(2):649–676.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Wang Y, Chen Y, Koo B (2020) Open to your rival: Competition between open source and proprietary software under indirect network effects. J. Management Inform. Systems 37(2):1128–1154.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Wen W, Zhu F (2019) Threat of platform-owner entry and complementor responses: Evidence from the mobile app market. Strategic Management J. 40(9):1336–1367.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Wen W, Ceccagnoli M, Forman C (2016) Opening up intellectual property strategy: Implications for open source software entry by start-up firms. Management Sci. 62(9):2668–2691.Link, Google Scholar
• Wen W, Forman C, Graham SJ (2013) Research note—The impact of intellectual property rights enforcement on open source software project success. Inform. Systems Res. 24(4):1131–1146.Link, Google Scholar
• Wooldridge JM (2023) Simple approaches to nonlinear difference-in-differences with panel data. Econom. J. 26(3):C31–C66.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Wright NL, Nagle F, Greenstein S (2023) Open source software and global entrepreneurship. Res. Policy 52(9):104846.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Xu L, Nian T, Cabral L (2019) What makes geeks tick? A study of stack overflow careers. Management Sci. 66(2):587–604.Link, Google Scholar
• Yilmaz ED, Meyer T, Miric M (2023) Preventing others from commercializing your innovation: Evidence from creative commons licenses. Preprint, submitted September 1, https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.00536.Google Scholar
• Yin, Bresnahan, Yin (2005) Economic and Technical Drivers of Technology Choice: Browsers. Annales D'économie Et De Statistique. (79/80):629Google Scholar
• Yue D, Nagle F (2024) Igniting innovation: Evidence from PyTorch on technology control in open collaboration. Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 25-013, Harvard Business School, Boston.Google Scholar
• Zhang XM, Zhu F (2011) Group size and incentives to contribute: A natural experiment at Chinese Wikipedia. Amer. Econom. Rev. 101(4):1601–1615.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Zhu F, Iansiti M (2012) Entry into platform-based markets. Strategic Management J. 33(1):88–106.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Zhu F, Liu Q (2018) Competing with complementors: An empirical look at amazon.com. Strategic Management J. 39(10):2618–2642.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Zrahia A, Gandal N, Markovich S, Riordan M (2024) The simple economics of an external shock to a bug bounty platform. J. Cybersecurity 10(1):6.Crossref, Google Scholar