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Journal of the Association for Information Systems

Abstract

The mirroring hypothesis posits a correspondence between ties in a team and technical dependencies in its work. Mirroring is a cornerstone for understanding the development of complex technical systems. However, its application to open-source software (OSS) suggests weak support. Why does mirroring, prevalent in many complex systems, appear absent in OSS, and what mechanisms might explain evolutionary outcomes in OSS and analogous distributed innovation environments? Prior work conceptualizes mirroring as a cross-sectional correspondence; we instead theorize it as an oscillatory process characterized by recurrent deviations and realignments. Its unbroached dynamics span mirror focusing and mirror misting, and their evolutionary consequences. We theorize that the sequence of these dynamics, rather than either state in isolation, drives evolutionary outcomes. We analyzed the source code and commit histories of 1,279 projects over 20 years, using methods analogous to functional subsequences in genome analysis. We found that mirroring dynamics fluctuate in OSS projects, creating temporal sequences of mirror misting followed by mirror focusing. Using panel vector autoregression and fixed-effects models, we show that mirror focusing enhances project evolution across both system-wide and module-specific levels. Our findings move the mirroring discourse beyond static notions to processual dynamics and advance understanding of OSS development by uncovering an antifragility in which the sequencing of mirroring dynamics enhances evolutionary outcomes. In contrast to synchronization-based explanations that emphasize continuous realignment between drifting technical and organizational structures, our theory identifies discrete oscillations between misalignment and realignment as the operative mechanism. This distinction shifts the locus of explanation from maintaining alignment to understanding how sequences of deviation and restoration spur evolution. Oscillatory sequences of misting followed by focusing—not mere achievement of static mirroring—generate evolutionary benefits.

DOI

10.17705/1jais.01028

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