A frequent characterization of open source software is the somewhat outdated, mythical one of a collective of supremely talented software hackers freely volunteering their services to produce uniformly high-quality software. I contend that the open source software phenomenon has metamorphosed into a more mainstream and commercially viable form, which I label as OSS 2.0. I illustrate this transformation using a framework of process and product factors, and discuss how the bazaar metaphor, which up to now has been associated with the open source development process, has actually shifted to become a metaphor better suited to the OSS 2.0 product delivery and support process. Overall the OSS 2.0 phenomenon is significantly different from its free software antecedent. Its emergence accentuates the fundamental alteration of the basic ground rules in the software landscape, signifying the end of the proprietary-driven model that has prevailed for the past 20 years or so. Thus, a clear understanding of the characteristics of the emergent OSS 2.0 phenomenon is required to address key challenges for research and practice.

/pdf/the-transformation-of-open-source-software-1pfvk6ccdt.pdf

The transformation of open source software

Selective revealing in open innovation processes: The case of embedded Linux

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/89290/1/353376493.pdf

Why Open Source software can succeed

During the '60s and the '70s, basically all software was Open Source and everyone was allowed to copy, modify and redistribute computer programs. When software ceased to be hardware-specific and the diffusion of computers took off, firms started to produce software independently from hardware and to protect their code through intellectual property rights. At present, a turnaround is taking place: the Open Source production mode is spreading across the software industry and, in some cases, it performs even better than the traditional proprietary one. Although a growing body of literature is analyzing Open Source software (OSS) issues, there is still lack of empirical data on the phenomenon, and little is known about firms that enter the software industry by producing under the Open Source license scheme (Open Source firms). This paper is a contribution to fill this gap and focuses on the business models of these firms. We find significant heterogeneity among them, in particular many agents supply both proprietary and Open Source software. We present a model of adoption that studies the intra-firm diffusion of the new paradigm. Explanatory hypotheses are discussed analyzing how the characteristics of the Open Source production mode and of network externalities in software demand shape the strategies of firms that entered the OSS field.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID519842_code337876.pdf?abstractid=519842&mirid=5

Adaptive Entry Strategies Under Dominant Standards - Hybrid Business Models in the Open Source Software Industry

The paper analyzes the strategies of software firms that have entered the open source (OS) field. The notion of the OS business model is discussed in the light of a substantial body of theoretical literature concerning strategic management and the economics of innovation, as well as specialized literature on OS. Empirical evidence based on a survey of 146 Italian software firms shows that firms have adapted to an environment dominated by incumbent standards by combining the offering of proprietary and OS software under different licensing schemes, thus choosing a hybrid business model. The paper examines the determinants of the degree of openness toward OS and discusses the stability of hybrid models in the evolution of the industry.

/pdf/entry-strategies-under-competing-standards-hybrid-business-4h4kwa6hbu.pdf

Entry Strategies Under Competing Standards: Hybrid Business Models in the Open Source Software Industry

Hecker, a developer at Netscape, discusses the business of commercial open-source software, including why a company might adopt an open-source model, how open-source licensing works, what business models might be usable and how various objections relating to open source might be answered

F. Hecker

Papers

Setting up shop: The business of open-source software