Insiders and outsiders: paid contributors and the dynamics of cooperation in community led F/OS projects

This paper examines the role of paid developers in mature free/open source (F/OS) communities. In particular it provides a typology for their involvement based on their employment and sponsorship arrangements and elaborates a framework for understanding the dynamics of cooperation developing between them and the volunteers based on their community ties. The evidence presented is drawn from individual interviews conducted with volunteer and paid contributors from the GNOME and KDE projects within the context of a PhD research focusing on commercialization and peripheral participation in F/OS communities. The paper highlights the various interdependencies that form between communities and companies and adds to our understanding of the dynamics of commercialization in F/OS projects.