Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
An open source software (OSS) project’s connections to other projects influences its success. This paper extends the prior work on network effects by taking a more comprehensive view of the types of ties that connect projects and accounting for variations in the resources held by alter projects. Drawing on the attention literature, we argue that garnering attention from key stakeholders (e.g., active users) is a crucial aspect of success for projects. We hypothesize that projects will therefore benefit more from connections to alter projects that are rich in attention than those that are attention-poor. Further, we develop hypotheses about how the roles occupied by the individual forming a tie between projects (i.e., whether that person is a contributor or an active user) impacts the extent to which the tie draws attention to the focal project. Three hypotheses are empirically supported in a sample of 250 OSS projects.
Recommended Citation
Daniel, Sherae and Stewart, Katherine, "Implications of Alter Project Resources and Participant Roles for Open Source Software Project Commercial Success" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/SocialMedia/Presentations/2
Implications of Alter Project Resources and Participant Roles for Open Source Software Project Commercial Success
An open source software (OSS) project’s connections to other projects influences its success. This paper extends the prior work on network effects by taking a more comprehensive view of the types of ties that connect projects and accounting for variations in the resources held by alter projects. Drawing on the attention literature, we argue that garnering attention from key stakeholders (e.g., active users) is a crucial aspect of success for projects. We hypothesize that projects will therefore benefit more from connections to alter projects that are rich in attention than those that are attention-poor. Further, we develop hypotheses about how the roles occupied by the individual forming a tie between projects (i.e., whether that person is a contributor or an active user) impacts the extent to which the tie draws attention to the focal project. Three hypotheses are empirically supported in a sample of 250 OSS projects.