1704 From ASP to Web Services customers that the ASP business model offered WKHPQHZEHQH¿WVIRURXWVRXUFLQJWKHLUEXVLQHVV software applications. Business Transformation A more nebulous aspect to ASP is business t rans- formation. With the growth in healthcare ICTs, managers and medical practitioners are faced with a confusing array of software applications from a variety of ASP vendors. The business transformational characteristics of different offerings were not well articulated by ASP ven- dors, as many were unable to provide practical H[DPSOHVRISHUIRUPDQFHLPSURYHPHQWLQVSHFL¿F healthcare/technology activities or tasks (Currie et al., 2004). Today, many pundits claim that Web services would integrate ICT with patient care. They also suggest that using Web services solutions would help the healthcare organizations keep pace with the latest ICT and give them all WKHEHQH¿WVRIRXWVRXUFLQJZKLFKKDGSUHYLRXVO\ DFFUXHGRQO\WRODUJH¿UPV)RUWKHKHDOWKFDUH RUJDQL]DWLRQ VHYHUDO ¿QDQFLDO DQG IXQFWLRQDO EHQH¿WVDUHUHDOL]HG*XDK&XUULH • The internal and external divisions, partner - ships, and regulatory agency relationships FDQEHUHDOLVWLFDOO\DXWRPDWHGIRUWKH¿UVW WLPHVLQFHDFFHVVLV GH¿QHGE\:HEVHU- vices. • Systems integration costs are dramatically reduced and interfaces are standardized, by as much as an order of magnitude. • Data integration is facilitated as database proliferation ceases. 2XUUHVHDUFK¿QGLQJVVXJJHVWWKDWKHDOWKFDUH organizations were aware of the hypothetical ben- H¿WVRIHEXVLQHVV+RZHYHUWKH\ZHUHXQDEOHWR UHODWHWKHVHEHQH¿WVWRWKHLUGD\WRGD\SUDFWLFDO healthcare operations. Many NHS staff simply GHVFULEHGWKH$63EXVLQHVVPRGHODV³DUHWXUQ to service bureaus under a different name,” rather than an ICT innovation which would enhance their business processes. The business transformational characteristics of the majority of ASP offerings were also low, as this was dependent upon integra- tion (Table 10.3). NHS did not deploy software applications for critical healthcare activities, and many managers were reluctant to do so because of fears of data security. RESULTS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY $JDLQVW WKH EDFNJURXQG RI WKH ¿YH .3$V VHH Currie, 2003) as discussed in the previous sec- tion, the questionnaire survey was developed to elicit data and information on how potential and existing ASP customers evaluate a range of KPIs in relation to their own business requirements. Using a scale of 0–4 (0 = not applicable; 1 = not important; 2 = quite important; 3 = very impor- tant; 4 = critically important), respondents were asked to rank each KPI across the approximately six KPAs. A questionnaire survey instrument is reproduced in Appendix 2. It is outside the scope of WKHSUHVHQWFKDSWHUWRGLVFXVVDOOWKH¿QGLQJVIURP the questionnaire survey, particularly the sample organizations previous outsourcing experience. All respondents gave their job title, company address, and other details about product/service offerings and size of company. For example, the trade fairs attended in the health sector aimed to sell the latest IT products and services to health- care professionals. Many ASPs therefore targeted VSHFL¿FYHUWLFDOVHFWRUVVXFKDVKHDOWKWRHQDEOH them to penetrate this market more successfully, as general e-business trade fairs were unlikely to attract healthcare personnel. Other variations in priorities emerged. For ex- ample, whilst the health sector shared similar con- cerns with the other sectors (apart from travel) in g i v i n g a h i g h p r i o r i t y t o d a t a s e c u r i t y a n d i n t e g r i t y, 1705 From ASP to Web Services LWDOVRLGHQWL¿HGallowing managers to concentrate on their “core” competencies as an important KPI. 7KLVPD\UHÀHFWWKHVLJQL¿FDQWFKDQJHVZLWKLQ the health sector marked by increased paperwork and other forms of bureaucracy. Using an ASP model was therefore perceived as having some advantages in this activity. The integration of ICT with the core busi- ness was highlighted by health as important, but less so for the other three sectors. In healthcare, in particular, the lack of integration of ICT has resulted in numerous disparate software applica- tions, although efforts are now in place to devise a national IT strategy for healthcare (Guah & Currie, $QLQWHUHVWLQJ¿QGLQJZDVWKDWDstrate- gic plan to increase IT outsourcing was given relatively low priority in all sectors (apart from health). Whereas the health sector was likely to increase its IT outsourcing as a result of a national IT strategy, the other sectors did not perceive this .3,DVDKLJKSULRULW\:LWKLQWKHVHFWRUV¿QDQFH IT, and manufacturing, IT outsourcing is now relatively mature, as opposed to travel. Within the area, business transformation, only two KPIs—to integrate IT with the core business ¿QDQFHDQG health) and to gain senior management support for IT (health)—scored higher than 3. In the case of the latter, it is not surprising that the centralized nature of IT procurement in healthcare precludes IT vendors from gaining access to key personnel (Guah & Currie, 2004). 2QHRIWKHVXUSULVLQJ¿QGLQJVIURPWKHTXHV- tionnaire survey in relation to the ASP vendor rhetoric was in the area of integration. Contrary to ASP sales and marketing literature, which empha- sizes the importance of integration (particularly enterprise application integration), no respondents in the sample scored higher than 3 for any KPI within this category. Indeed, the KPI, strategic plan to increase ICT outsourcing, was not seen as DQLPSRUWDQWSULRULW\E\VDPSOH¿UPVDQGgain- ing senior management support for ICT was only considered a priority in healthcare organizations. It is therefore suggested that, without these two KPIs being perceived as highly important, the responsibility for negotiating SLAs is likely to be delegated to more junior management and IT staff, possibly increasing risk. This observation has already been made in the outsourcing literature (Willcocks & Lacity, 1998). Our results, however, pointed to relatively low scoring for these KPIs, suggesting that ASP vendors had possibly misinterpreted the needs of potential customers. Clearly, most of the sales and marketing rhetoric of ASP vendors appeared to echo the messages given to the large customer. Questions therefore arise as to the extent these messages were relevant for healthcare organiza- tions, in particular, that a healthcare organization would reduce its TCO of IT using an ASP solution GHVSLWHDORZDQQXDO,7VSHQGRUWKDWHI¿FLHQF\ would be greatly improved with 24x7 software availability. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION This chapter has provided a snapshot of research UHVXOWV GHULYHG IURP D ¿YH\HDU VWXG\ RQ WKH deployment, hosting, and integration of ASP (Currie, 2003; Currie et al., 2004). It focuses VSHFL¿FDOO\RQWKH8.KHDOWKFDUHVHFWRUZKLFK is receiving a major investment in IT over the next 5 years. Whilst it is not possible to draw GH¿QLWLYHFRQFOXVLRQVIURPWKHUHVXOWVWKHYDULD- WLRQVLQWKHSULRULWLHVZLWKLQDQGDFURVVWKH¿YH KPAs points to some interesting observations. The results discussed in this paper are indicative RI WKH SUREOHPV ZKLFKEHVHW WKH ¿UVW ZDYHRI the ASP market, most notably, a failure of ASP vendors to provide an attractive value proposi- tion to organizations (Hagel, 2002). Existing OLWHUDWXUHRQKHDOWKFDUHV\VWHPVKDYHLGHQWL¿HG four basic types of applications detailed below (Ferlie & Shortell, 2001; Haines, 2002; Majeed, 2003): group collaboration; healthcare support 1706 From ASP to Web Services systems; business intelligence; and e-commerce. The fourth category is a combination of one or more of the other types but implemented using Internet technology Group Collaboration: The original purpose of the Internet was essentially to enable (academic) group collaboration. Proprietary group collabo- ration applications in the NHS are consequently under great pressure from their low-cost, tested, and robust Internet equivalents (Laroia, 2002; Majeed, 2003). Healthcare Process Systems: Although the Internet does offer process systems capability, it is unsophisticated and unstable by comparison to the tried-and-trusted but propri- etary commercial equivalents. The Internet was never designed to offer more than a very basic transaction capability as is currently required to support healthcare processes. Patient Intelligence: Patient intelligence usually involves looking for patterns within very large data sets, in the order of m i l l i o n s of i n d i v i d u a l d a t a i t e m s . V i e w i n g r e p o r t s and simple graphics is easily supported; however, complex manipulation of graphical informa- tion does not work well using today’s Internet technology due to network capacity restraints. E-Commerce: At its most basic, e-commerce is buying and selling over the Internet, whether to consumers or business to business. NHS systems PD\QRWUHTXLUHD¿QDQFLDOWUDQVDFWLRQV\VWHPEXW the need to interact with patients is promoting e-commerce-type system to a higher position on NHSIA strategic agenda. Whilst the ASP market continues to undergo large-scale change, which is a symptom of compet- ing in a highly volatile and dynamic marketplace (LVHQKDUGW0DUWLQWKHPDLQ¿QGLQJ from the research study has been the failure of vendors to create value for potential and some existing customers. By delineating KPIs across ¿YH.3$VDVWKHUHVXOWVIURPWKHTXHVWLRQQDLUH VXUYH\SRLQWWRVRPHLQWHUHVWLQJ¿QGLQJVZKLFK provide a snapshot of how potential and existing customers of ASPs evaluate the ASP or software- as-a-service model. Further research is now underway to provide more detailed vendor and customer scenarios across vertical sectors (i.e., K H D O W K D Q G¿ Q D Q F H D QG SU R G X F W V H U Y LF H V RI IH U L Q J V LH(53WRSURYLGHVSHFL¿FH[DPSOHVRIKRZ vendors may tailor their offerings to more closely meet the needs of customers. This is particularly important given the current cynicism and myths surrounding the business value of e-business (Howcroft, 2001). $Q\KHDOWKFDUH RUJDQL]DWLRQWHPSWHG WR¿OO the gaps with older technologies should be wary of creating hybrids that will limit its options when Web services alternatives become avail- DEOH 3URSULHWDU\ H[WHQVLRQV WR ¿OO JDSV LQ WKH features of Web services, for example, should EHLPSOHPHQWHGDVPRGXOHVZLWKFOHDUO\GH¿QHG interfaces (Kreger, 2003). In this way, it will be easier to replace the proprietary extensions with evolving Web services standards as they become available. Finally, a staged, pragmatic implementa- tion of Web services at the edge of enterprises is by no means without pitfalls. This approach gives organizations time to learn about these technologies and to develop insights into the broader operational and strategic possibilities of strategic collaborations. In the UK, NHS executives were lulled into complacency by the simple and mundane nature of Web services. By their early tactical implementations, they have overlooked the broader opportunities and lost valuable time—NHS-Direct is a good example (Wanless, 2002). It is management’s attitude that will ultimately determine who creates value with Web services (Gerowitz et al., 1996). REFERENCES Ahn, J.G., Leem, C.S., & Yang, J.H. (2001). Jae Geun Ahn$IUDPHZRUNIRUFHUWL¿FDWLRQDQGDX- dit of application service provider. Application Service Provider, 10(3), 239–252. 1707 From ASP to Web Services Amit, R., & Zott, C. (2001). Value creation in e-business. 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Application service provision: A technology and working tool for healthcare organisation in the knowledge age. International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 6(1/2), 84–98. Guah, M.W., & Currie, W.L. (2002). Evaluation of NHS information systems strategy: Exploring the ASP model. Issues of Information Systems Journal, III, 222–228. Hagel, J. III (2002). Out of the box: Strategies IRUDFKLHYLQJSUR¿WVWRGD\DQGJURZWKWRPRUURZ through Web services. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Haines, M. (2002). Knowledge management in the NHS – Platform for change. Retrieved November 2002, from www.healthknowledge.org.uk Howcroft, D. (2001). After the goldrush: Decon- structing the myths of the dot.com market. Journal of Information Technology, 16(4), 195–204. Institute of Medicine. (2002). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21 st century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Kakabadse, N., & Kakabadse, A. (2002). Software as a service via application service providers (ASPs) model of sourcing: An exploratory study. Journal of Information Technology Cases and Applications, 4(2), 26–44. Kern, T., Lacity, M., & Willcocks, L. (2002). Netsourcing: Renting business applications and 1708 From ASP to Web Services services over a network. New York: Prentice Hall. .UHJHU+)XO¿OOLQJWKH:HEVHUYLFHV promise. Communications of the ACM, 46(6), 29–34. Laroia, A. (2002). Leveraging Web services to connect the healthcare enterprise. Retrieved February, 2002, from http://e-serv.ebizq. net/wbs/ larois_1.html Majeed, A. (2003). Ten ways to improve infor- mation technology in the NHS. British Medical Journal, 326, 202–206. Orlikowski, W.J., & Tyre, M.J. (1994). Windows of opportunity: Temporal patterns of technological adaptation in organisations. Organisation Sci- ence, May, 98–118. Perseid Software Limited. (2003). The strategic value of Web services for healthcare and the life sciences. Retrieved August 2003, from www. perseudsiftware.com 6OHHSHU%5RELQV%'H¿QLQJ:HE services. Accessed April 2002, from www.sten- cilgroup.com Susarla, A., Barua, A., & Whinston, A.B. (2003). Understanding the service component of applica- tion service provision: An empirical analysis of satisfaction with ASP services. MIS Quarterly, 27(1), 91–123. Wanless, D. (2002). Securing our future health: Taking a long-term view¿QDOUHSRUWRIDQ independent review of the long-term resource requirement for the NHS). London. Walsham, G. (1993). Interpreting information sys- tems in organisations. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Weill, P., & Vitale, M.R. (2001). Place to space– Migrating to eBusiness models. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Willcocks, L., & Lacity, M. (1998). Strategic sourcing of information systems. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Wong, S. (2001). Web services: The next evolution of application integration. Retrieved November 2002, from www.grgcc.com/pdf/WebServices TheNextEvolutionofApplicationIntegration.pdf Yin, R.K. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage Publications. Zmud, R.W. (1988). Building relationships throughout the corporate entity. Washington, DC: ICIT Press. This work was previously published in Internet Strategy: The Road to Web Services Solutions, edited by M. Guah and W. Cur- rie, pp. 149-177, copyright 2006 by IRM Press (an imprint of IGI Global). 1709 Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 5.20 Social Aspects of Open Source Software: Motivation, Organization, and Economics Spyridoula Lakka University of Athens, Greece Nikolas E. Lionis University of Athens, Greece Dimitris Varoutas University of Athens, Greece ABSTRACT Open source software/free software (OSS/FS), also abbreviated as FLOSS/FOSS (free/libre and open source software), has risen to great prominence. Existing literature from diverse disciplines or through interdisciplinary studies have tried to explain the growth and success of the phenomenon. This chapter describes and discusses OSS/FS under the scope of three major aspects: motivations that lead to OSS/FS, the organiza- tion of OSS/FS communities and the economic theory as a means of explaining the manifold phe- nomenon. Furthermore, the chapter analyzes the social implications that lie underneath the OSS/FS diffusion, together with the social processes that take place in OSS/FS communities in an effort to enhance our understanding of the diverse mecha- nisms that disseminate OSS/FS rapidly. INTRODUCTION ³Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. Free software is a matter of the user’s freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. In order to be able to make changes and to publish improved versions, one must have access to the source code of the program. There- fore, accessibility to source code is a necessary condition for free software. The freedom to im- prove a program and release it to the public, so 1710 Social Aspects of Open Source Software W K D W W KH ZK R O H F R P P X Q LW \ E H Q H ¿ W V F R P S O LH VZ L W K the philosophy that introduced free software: the prosperity and freedom of the public in general. The idea of open software is not new for in- stitutes and universities, yet its rapid growth and VLJQL¿FDQFHWRPDLQVWUHDPinformation technol- ogy (IT) business was not accomplished before the Internet became widespread and the emergence of electronic commerce (e-commerce). The spread of the Internet made possible the collaboration of communities and the ability to handle massive G H F H Q W U D O L ] H G S URM H F W V ZK L O H D V L J Q L ¿ F D QW S R U W L R Q of e-commerce runs on OSS/FS. OSS developers from around the world col- laborate, self-organize and rarely meet face-to- face. Questions about their motivations, about the organization of their communities, and the ethics and social implications of the phenomenon inevitably arise. This chapter, by presenting and analyzing recent developments and discussions of the existing literature, aims to contribute to the understanding of the economic and social aspects related to the open source phenomenon. BACKGROUND In 1985, Richard Stallman (1992) created the Free Software Foundation (FSF) (2006) and designed the GNU General Public License (GPL) (GNU *HQHUDO 3XEOLF /LFHQVH 266)6¶V ¿UVW formal licensing contract. 7KH)6)¶VGH¿QLWLRQRIIUHHVRIWZDUHVWUHVVHV the abandonment of property rights, which it WHUPV³copylefting.” Copyleft uses copyright law, EXWÀLSVLWRYHUWRVHUYHWKHRSSRVLWHRILWVXVXDO purpose; instead of a means of privatizing soft- ware, it becomes a contractual means of keeping software open. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) 1 was founded by Eric Raymond. While the FSF and the OSI work to help each other, they are not the same WKLQJ7KH)6)XVHVDVSHFL¿FOLFHQVHDQGSURYLGHV software under that license. The OSI seeks sup- port for all open-source licenses, including ones from the FSF. The infrastructure and philosophy of the two movements has sometimes led them to divergence, yet the two groups are working toward the same goal, which remains a conciliating fac- tor. The terms OSS/FS and FOSS as used in this document will refer to both movements. ORGANIZATION OF OSS COMMUNITIES The OSS/FS organizational structure follows a bottom-up approach that relies on generally ac- cepted protocols of communication and a shared notion of validity. The strength of these elements is enhanced by the peculiar characteristics of the software good and the structure of the OSS/FS license. Licenses are the basic element in the structure of FOSS projects and there are almost as many open licenses as OSS/FS projects. Most of these projects are released under GPL copyleft license, whose design allows attuning the incentive of the FOSS developers, serving the goals of the FOSS community better than other legal frameworks. 7KH*18*3/ZDVWKH¿UVWDQGLVVWLOOWKHPRVW popular open license enacted, but there are also other widely used licenses that are known to be compatible with the GNU GPL, such as the GNU library or Lesser General Public License (LGPL), original MIT/X (The MIT License, 2006) and BSD (The BSD License, 2006). Copylefting is a means of copyrighting a program, but at the same time a programmer actually signs the GPL. With this arrangement, the program is simultaneously freely usable, but protected from becoming someone’s private intellectual property. It is also a way of linking the programmer and his contribution together permanently, while the contribution is publicly observable. This creates an environment where programmers have an incentive to signal their abilities via the copyleft community. 1711 Social Aspects of Open Source Software Another characteristic of open licenses is in the two kinds of agents it links together: the agent who originally attaches an open license to an asset, establishing it as an OSS/FS project, and the agents who have subsequently obtained the copylefted product. As using the product constitutes implicit acceptance of the contractual terms of the open license attached to it, an agent becomes an adopter by procuring the copylefted product. Together, program-creators and adopters constitute a community (Von Hippel, 2001). The abandonment of property rights, however, has become a major controversy from an ethical and sociopolitical point of view. Some research- ers are skeptical (Lerner & Tirole, 2005; Marty, Kevin, Don, & Keith, 2002; Mundie, 2001), while governments remain inactive to the establishment of a general legal framework. What if adopters attempt to generate revenue by improving or dis- tributing the copylefted product? The answer lies LQWKHQDWXUHRIFRS\OHIWZKLFKE\LWVGH¿QLWLRQ diminishes such a possibility. Lerner and Tirole (2005) also talk about the problem that might occur if the project leader decides to transition IURPRQHOLFHQVHWRDQRWKHUPRUH³ÀH[LEOH´RQH DQGWKH\¿QGWKDWDJDLQVXFKDSURFHGXUHDFWX- ally would be impractical under the open source GH¿QLWLRQ Under this skepticism, FSF (Stallman, 1992) argues that free knowledge requires free soft- ZDUHDQGDIUHH¿OHIRUPDWDQGVXEVHTXHQWO\ it is essential to free the code as a contribution to the social welfare. The FSF philosophy has an increasing number of advocates, who in turn become members of the community. Managing the OSS/FS Community It is apparent that OSS/FS communities are organized and maintained under common goals and beliefs that span traditional boundaries of ownership. OSS/FS projects, however, pose a JUHDW PDQDJHPHQW GLI¿FXOW\ LQ WKDW WKH SHHU groups exist in a virtual community with a large diversity of members, who may never see each other face-to-face. However, many OSS/FS proj- ects are successful, even if they appear to eschew the traditional project coordination mechanisms, such as formal planning, system-level design, VFKHGXOHV DQG GH¿QHG GHYHORSPHQW SURFHVVHV Many researchers (Crowston, Annabi, Howison, & Masango, 2004; Elliott & Scacchi, 2003) believe that FOSS is a growing component of software engineering as a human and team practice, and it is a good practice for those who seek to improve the effectiveness of their projects, by learning from the social and sociotechnical practices of FOSS development teams. First of all Internet technology has made it possible to resolve communication problems and handle massive decentralized projects. Elliott and Scacchi (2003) in a sociotechnical study identify the social processes that facilitate the successful development of OSS/FS. The OSS/FS project groups are characterized as occupational com- munities (Trice & Beyer, 1993; Van Maanen & Barley, 1984) with beliefs, values and norms that LQÀXHQFHWKHLUVRIWZDUHGHYHORSPHQWSUDFWLFHV LQFOXGLQJWRROFKRLFHVDQGFRQÀLFWUHVROXWLRQ,Q fact, the OSS/FS developers share similar goals, work practices, interests and value systems, and they are bound by socially constructed rules and ethics that promote formation of shared ideologies and cultural forms. The study further showed that strong organizational cultural beliefs in a virtual FRPPXQLW\WLHVDJURXSWRJHWKHUVRWKDWFRQÀLFW LVPRUHHDVLO\PLWLJDWHGDQG¿QDOO\UHVROYHG,W DOVRSRLQWHGRXWWKDWFRQÀLFWVZLWKLQDJURXSFDQ also be faced with the use of computer-mediated communication, such as mailing lists and related artifacts in the form of Internet-relay chat. Bonaccorsi and Rossi (2003) identify two factors that shape the lifecycle of a successful OSS/FS project: a widely accepted leadership that sets the project guidelines and drives the decision process, and an effective coordination mechanism among the developers based on shared communication protocols. 1712 Social Aspects of Open Source Software Raymond’s (1999a) bazaar metaphor is a famous model of the OSS/FS process. Develop- ers are likened as merchants in a bazaar, who autonomously decide how and when to contribute to project development. While popular, the bazaar metaphor has been broadly criticized. It disregards important aspects of the OSS/FS process, such as the importance of project leader control and the existence of hierarchical organization. For instance, in the Debian Project (Debian, 2006), the project leaders were elected by the developers, but had total authority over those who worked on their projects. Mozilla (Mozzila.Org, 2006) is an example of open-source management structure that demonstrates control. A small group of Netscape employees oversee the Mozilla com- munity and play the role of benevolent dictators who arbitrate what happens in a module. Most successful FOSS projects, display a clear hierarchical or onion-like organization (Crowston et al., 2004), with a small core group of developers at the center, surrounded by codevelopers, active XVHUVDQG¿QDOO\WKHSDVVLYHXVHUV$OWKRXJKLW is obvious that the core is at the highest level of the hierarchy and is responsible for oversight 2 of the design and evolution of the project, the roles within the hierarchy are not strictly assigned. As the project grows, the authority of the project leaders (core group) arises naturally from a bot- tom-up investiture, as a result of the contributions to the commonly agreed goal. A widely known successful project with an onion-like hierarchy is Linux. The most important feature of Linux is its small and compact kernel. The system can be extended by independent PRGXOHVZKLFKDUHFRQ¿JXUHGDQGLQVHUWHG inside the Linux kernel, obtaining a monolithic kernel. In this way, programmers can add modules without interfering with other parts of the pro- JUDP%DU¿HOG'LHJR7DQDEH+LQHV6KDIIQHU & Yelden, 2003). OSS/FS projects may not always be success- ful. There is a danger of information overload DQGEXUQRXWDQGWKHSRVVLELOLW\RIFRQÀLFWVWKDW cause a loss of interest in a project or forking, that appear in many projects (Bezroukov, 1999). In these cases, the leadership plays an important role E\VHOHFWLQJWKHEHVW¿WWLQJVROXWLRQ7KHVXSSRUW of the members of the community is also crucial for the project to be viable. A mitigating fact is that agents choose freely to focus on problems WKDWWKH\WKLQNEHVW¿WWKHLURZQLQWHUHVWVDQG capabilities. Under these conditions, a developer could achieve the best of his/her performance. In general, the coordination mechanisms of OSS/FS communities are successful, despite the obstacles of diversity, size and distance. Motivation of OSS/FS Contributors It is true that the OSS/FS movement has chal- lenged traditional reasoning by suggesting that individuals behave altruistically and contribute to a public good, despite the opportunity to free-ride. As explained above, one of the reasons that devel- opers join the OSS/FS community is because of their beliefs. Lerner and Tirole (2002) also made a thorough analysis of the programmer’s incen- tives to OSS/FS. They argue that a developer’s participation in an OSS/FS project aspires to net EHQH¿WVIURPWKHZRUNZLWKQHWWKHEHQH¿WEDVHG on both immediate and delayed rewards. Immediate rewards include monetary com- SHQVDWLRQDVZHOODVWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WR¿[DEXJ RUFXVWRPL]HDSURJUDPIRUWKHLURZQEHQH¿W Delayed rewards stem from the signaling incen- tive (Lerner & Tirole, 2002). This includes the career concern incentive, which refers to future job offers, shares in commercial open source- based companies or future access to venture capital, and the HJRJUDWL¿FDWLRQLQFHQWLYH which expresses the desire for peer recognition. Though different in some regards, both have been shown to be stronger when the work is visible to people the programmer wants to impress (colleagues, 1713 Social Aspects of Open Source Software venture capitalists, the IT market, etc.). Signal- ing incentive prevails, where the spotlight on the programmer’s contribution counts most. Generally, with OSS/FS, a programmer is his/her own boss and can take full responsibility for the success or failure of a task. In typical com- mercial projects, programmers have to work with (or around) their supervisor, thus the individual contribution is harder to measure. The proprietary nature of the code generates LQFRPHPDNLQJLWSRVVLEOHIRU¿UPVWRUHZDUG programmers immediately with salaries. Unlike the commercial projects, however, OSS/FS proj- ects have the advantages of alumni effect and that of customizing projects for personal use (Lerner 7LUROH 7KH ¿UVW DGYDQWDJH UHIHUV WR open-source products, as knowledge acquired from their school time and, therefore, is more familiar. Secondly, programmers like to be free WRXVHWKHPRGL¿HGSURJUDPVLQPDQ\ZD\VWKDW is, for improving their work. )LQDOO\LQ266)6SHRSOHKDYHJUHDWHUÀH[- ibility when moving from one project to another, EXLOGLQJNQRZOHGJHDQG³WRROV´DVWKH\JR%\ FRQWUDVWLQFRPPHUFLDO¿UPVSHRSOHDUHUHVWULFWHG E\SURSULHWDU\FRGHVSHFL¿FWRWKDW¿UP6RLQ a sense, they have to start all over again when they switch jobs. A number of surveys have been conducted to measure developers’ motivations. The Boston &RQVXOWLQJ*URXS%&*VXUYH\LGHQWL¿HV the top motivations for participating in OSS/FS and divides developers into four major groups: those for learning and stimulation: for skill im- provement and fun by 29%; hobbyists: need the code for a nonwork reason by 27%; professionals: for work needs and professional status by 33.8%; and community believers: believe source code should be open by 19%. The FLOSS Survey (Ghosh, *ORWW.ULHJHU5REOHV¿QGV similar results with 79% saying they joined to learn and develop new skills and 50% saying they joined to share their knowledge and skills. The BCG survey (2003) took things one step further and compared the different motivations cited by paid versus volunteer contributors. The comparison showed that those who are paid to contribute to OSS are motivated by the desire to do their job more effectively. This shows that ¿QDQFLDO UHZDUGV DUH QRW D SULPDU\ GULYHU RI OSS/FS communities. Motivations for IT Enterprises However, unpaid volunteers are not the only pos- sible source of labor for OSS/FS. IT enterprises PD\KDYHLQFHQWLYHVWR³DFFRPPRGDWH´ODERUIRU the development of open source, and, in several cases, it has been done in some extent. The main incentive remains revenue, yet business may ben- H¿WE\LQGLUHFWVDOHYDOXHV)RULQVWDQFHIXQGLQJ an OSS/FS project could stimulate the demand IRURWKHUSURGXFWVRUVHUYLFHVRIWKH¿UP6SROVN\ (2002) argues that investing in open source would prove a good business strategy for enterprises. This argument is based on the idea that every product in the marketplace has substitutes and complements. A substitute is another product RQHPLJKWEX\LIWKH¿UVWSURGXFWLVWRRFRVWO\ while a complement is a product that one usually buys together with another product. Since the demand for a product increases, when the prices of its complements decrease, companies try to commoditize their products’ complements. For many companies supporting OSS/FS products, turning a complementary product into a com- PRGLW\UHVXOWVLQSUR¿WJURZWK,QWKLVVLWXDWLRQD company will want to have extensive knowledge about the OSS/FS movement and may even want to encourage and subsidize OSS/FS contributions. Both reasons will lead company to allocate some programmers to an OSS/FS project. In addition, many commercial companies released some existing proprietary code in order to further develop it as an open source project. 7KLVNLQGRISDUWLFLSDWLRQE\FRPPHUFLDO¿UPV . of Information Technology Cases and Applications, 4(2), 26–44. Kern, T., Lacity, M., & Willcocks, L. (2002). Netsourcing: Renting business applications and 1708 From ASP to Web Services services. Internet became widespread and the emergence of electronic commerce (e-commerce). The spread of the Internet made possible the collaboration of communities and the ability to handle massive G H F. This chapter, by presenting and analyzing recent developments and discussions of the existing literature, aims to contribute to the understanding of the economic and social aspects related