Open Source Communities as Liminal Ecosystems

In this paper, we propose a study to explore the movement of individuals engaged in open source communities. Although there is extensive literature on open source communities and growing body of knowledge on corporate engagement in open source communities, our understanding of the movements of individuals within these communities is limited. To analyze these movements, we build on Arnold Van Gennep and Victor Turners’ theories on liminality. Through this lens, we build an understanding of the movements of individual members within open source communities.