Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
Open source software (OSS) development has recently garnered much attention from both industry practitioners and academic researchers. However, existing research on OSS usually focus on the role of behavioral factors in affecting collaboration outcomes but has neglected to critically consider the nature of software itself. In this study, we seek to integrate collaboration factors and software factors in OSS collaboration. Specifically, we investigate the role of programming style in open source collaboration, where strict guidelines for coding are usually not enforced. We develop three implications of programming style on contributor, development and diffusion from a diversity perspective. Additionally, two team level factors that moderate the negative effects of programming style are discussed. A comprehensive measure for quantifying programming style is proposed and verified in our preliminary investigation. Our study is expected to contribute to the literature on OSS development, software engineering and diversity in distributed work groups.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Zhiyi and Hahn, Jungpil, "The Effects of Programming Style on Open Source Collaboration" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 22.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/DigitalPlatforms/Presentations/22
The Effects of Programming Style on Open Source Collaboration
Open source software (OSS) development has recently garnered much attention from both industry practitioners and academic researchers. However, existing research on OSS usually focus on the role of behavioral factors in affecting collaboration outcomes but has neglected to critically consider the nature of software itself. In this study, we seek to integrate collaboration factors and software factors in OSS collaboration. Specifically, we investigate the role of programming style in open source collaboration, where strict guidelines for coding are usually not enforced. We develop three implications of programming style on contributor, development and diffusion from a diversity perspective. Additionally, two team level factors that moderate the negative effects of programming style are discussed. A comprehensive measure for quantifying programming style is proposed and verified in our preliminary investigation. Our study is expected to contribute to the literature on OSS development, software engineering and diversity in distributed work groups.