%0 Journal Article %J Information & Management %D 2009 %T Virtual organizational learning in open source software development projects %A Yoris A. Au %A Darrell Carpenter %A Xiaogang Chen %A Jan G. Clark %K bug fixing %K bugs %K learning %K Project performance %K sourceforge %K team size %K teams %K virtual organization %X We studied virtual organizational learning in open source software (OSS) development projects. Specifically, our research focused on learning effects of OSS projects and the factors that affect the learning process. The number and percentage of resolved bugs and bug resolution time of 118 SourceForge.net OSS projects were used to measure the learning effects. Projects were characterized by project type, number and experience of developers, number of bugs, and bug resolution time. Our results provided evidence of virtual organizational learning in OSS development projects and support for several factors as determinants of performance. Team size was a significant predictor, with mid-sized project teams functioning best. Teams of three to seven developers exhibited the highest efficiency over time and teams of eight to 15 produced the lowest mean time for bug resolution. Increasing the percentage of bugs assigned to specific developers or boosting developer participation in other OSS projects also improved performance. Furthermore, project type introduced variability in project team performance. %B Information & Management %V 46 %P 9 - 15 %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VD0-4V1D7NT-1/2/a3bbf7652c674f753398160b8f05f6e9 %R DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2008.09.004 %0 Journal Article %J Industrial and Corporate Change %D 2008 %T Dynamics of innovation in an "open source" collaboration environment: lurking, laboring, and launching FLOSS projects on SourceForge %A David, P. A. %A Rullani, F. %K contributors %K core %K developers %K roles %K SFnetDataset %K sourceforge %K users %K virtual communities %K virtual organization %K virtual organizations %X A systems analysis perspective is adopted to examine the critical properties of the Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) mode of innovation, as reflected on the SourceForge platform (SF.net). This approach re-scales March's (1991) framework and applies it to characterize the “innovation system” of a “distributed organization” of interacting agents in a virtual collaboration environment, rather than to innovation within a firm. March (1991) views the process of innovation at the organizational level as the coupling of sub-processes of exploration and exploitation. Correspondingly, the innovation system of the virtual collaboration environment represented by SF.net is an emergent property of two “coupled” processes: one involves the interactions among agents searching the locale for information and knowledge resources to use in designing novel software products (i.e., exploration), and the other involves the mobilization of individuals’ capabilities for application in the software development projects that become established on the platform (i.e., exploitation). The micro-dynamics of this system are studied empirically by constructing transition probability matrices representing the movements of 222,835 SF.net users among seven different activity states, which range from “lurking” (not contributing or contributing to projects without becoming a member) to “laboring” (joining one or more projects as members), and to “launching” (founding one or more projects) within each successive 6-month interval. The estimated probabilities are found to form first-order Markov chains describing ergodic processes. This makes it possible the computation of the equilibrium distribution of agents among the states, thereby suppressing transient effects and revealing persisting patterns of project joining and project launching. The latter show the FLOSS innovation process on SF.net to be highly dissipative: a very large proportion of the registered “developers” fail to become even minimally active on the platform. There is nevertheless an active core of mobile project joiners, and a (still smaller) core of project founders who persist in creating new projects. The structure of these groups’ interactions (as displayed within the 3-year period examined) is investigated in detail, and it is shown that it would be sufficient to sustain both the exploration and exploitation phases of the platform's global dynamics. %B Industrial and Corporate Change %V 17 %P 647 - 710 %8 07/2008 %N 4 %! Industrial and Corporate Change %R 10.1093/icc/dtn026 %0 Journal Article %J Information Systems Journal %D 2001 %T Striking a balance between trust anti control in a virtual organization: a content analysis of open source software case studies %A Gallivan, M. J. %K apache %K case studies %K Control %K fetchmail %K jun %K linux %K linux kernel %K McDonaldization %K mozilla %K networked organization %K perl %K rationalization %K trust %K virtual organization %X Many organization theorists have predicted the emergence of the networked or virtual firm as a model for the design of future organizations. Researchers have also emphasized the importance of trust as a necessary condition for ensuring the success of virtual organizations. This paper examines the open source software (OSS) 'movement' as an example of a virtual organization and proposes a model that runs contrary to the belief that trust is critical for virtual organizations. Instead, I argue that various control mechanisms can ensure the effective performance of autonomous agents who participate in virtual organizations. Borrowing from the theory of the 'McDonaldization' of society, I argue that, given a set of practices to ensure the control, efficiency, predictability and calculability of processes and outcomes in virtual organizations, effective performance may occur in the absence of trust. As support for my argument, I employ content analysis to examine a set of published case studies of OSS projects. My results show that, although that trust is rarely mentioned, ensuring control is an important criterion for effective performance within OSS projects. The case studies feature few references to other dimensions of 'McDonaldization' (efficiency, predictability and calculability), however, and I conclude that the OSS movement relies on many other forms of social control and self-control, which are often unacknowledged in OSS projects. Through these implicit forms of control, OSS projects are able to secure the cooperation of the autonomous agents that participate in project teams. I conclude by extrapolating from these case studies to other virtual organizations. %B Information Systems Journal %V 11 %P 277-304 %G eng %M WOS:000172198800003 %1 information systems %2 case study