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Paper Type
short
Paper Number
1801
Description
Firms seek the skills and experiences OSS developers gain from the work they do in a complex and dynamic environment. Increasingly firms find such developers through digital labor platforms. While the information systems literature suggests firms identify OSS developers based on the skills they demonstrate, the organizational literature points to social relationships as critical for identifying hires in ambiguous settings. We examine how the demonstration of skills and social relationships on digital labor platforms influences OSS developer firm mobility. Further, because face-to-face interactions hold value in ambiguous situations, we explore whether the degree to which OSS developers engage in face-to-face settings conditions the relationship between digital platform behaviors and firm mobility. Using archival data associated with 399 Apache Software Foundation developers, we find that the digital presentation of skills and social relationships affects OSS developer firm mobility; furthermore, face-to-face interactions condition these relationships. Our results hold theoretical and practical implications.
Recommended Citation
Daniel, Sherae; Zhao, Renzhi (Fred); and Maruping, Likoebe M., "Who You Know or What You Know? A Study of Digital Labor Platforms and OSS Developer Firm Mobility" (2020). ICIS 2020 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2020/is_workplace_fow/is_workplace_fow/8
Who You Know or What You Know? A Study of Digital Labor Platforms and OSS Developer Firm Mobility
Firms seek the skills and experiences OSS developers gain from the work they do in a complex and dynamic environment. Increasingly firms find such developers through digital labor platforms. While the information systems literature suggests firms identify OSS developers based on the skills they demonstrate, the organizational literature points to social relationships as critical for identifying hires in ambiguous settings. We examine how the demonstration of skills and social relationships on digital labor platforms influences OSS developer firm mobility. Further, because face-to-face interactions hold value in ambiguous situations, we explore whether the degree to which OSS developers engage in face-to-face settings conditions the relationship between digital platform behaviors and firm mobility. Using archival data associated with 399 Apache Software Foundation developers, we find that the digital presentation of skills and social relationships affects OSS developer firm mobility; furthermore, face-to-face interactions condition these relationships. Our results hold theoretical and practical implications.
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