BENKLER REVISITED – VENTURING BEYOND THE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE ARENA?

The organizational principles of open source software (OSS) development have challenged traditional theories in economics, organization research and information systems. In a seminal paper, Benkler (2002) provided a comprehensive framework to structure and explain these OSS principles. Coined Commons-Based Peer Production (CBPP), his framework has inspired a large stream of research on OSS. The objective of our paper is to determine whether CBPP also provides a viable framework to investigate projects of open innovation in non-software related domains. Using a case study approach, we focus on four projects that attempt to operate in line with the OSS phenomenon, but deal with tangible outputs (biotechnology, automobiles, entertainment hardware, and public patent review). We show that in general the CBPP framework is well-suited to explain open value creation in these domains. However, we also find several factors which limit its adoption to non-software related arenas

ICTs and value creation in public sector: manufacturing logic vs service logic

This paper contributes to the e-government literature discussing the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as an enabler of different modes of production of public services. E-government developments are often associated with organizational transformations aimed to increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of the internal production of public services or to facilitate the exchange of information and the coordination among different public organizations. However, ICTs can also enable the co-production of public services allowing citizens or non-public organizations, such as NGOs, social enterprises or private companies to co-produce public services with public sector organizations. ICTs can generate new relationships and dynamics that involve actors and resources outside public organizations, modifying the ways by which the value embedded in the services is produced. This paper critically describes and compares four different ICT mediated modes of production in the light of the two different logics of value creation. For each mode of public service production we identify the associated benefits, risks and possible solutions that can be deployed to mitigate the risks

Cultural Determinants of Organizational Social Media Adoption

In this research-in-progress paper, we present a two-step approach to measure the impact of cultural values on organizational social media adoption. We build on the GLOBE framework to measure societal culture and the Competing Values Framework to measure organizational culture. We define organizational social media adoption as the use of social networking, blogs, and media sharing tools in order to communicate and collaborate with customers, partners, and organization members. Cultural values appear to be salient factors for the ongoing adoption of social media in organizations

Towards a Digital Platform to Support/Enhance Community-based Tourism in Developing Countries - Findings from Nepal

Real social impact is not possible without the engagement of the local communities. The paper describes the first phase of an engaged research project in which we develop a digital platform which is able to support and enhance Community-Based Tourism in Developing Countries. With the help of a local community in Nepal, we co-develop and understand the requirements which need to be included in a digital platform to support Community-Based Tourism in Developing Countries. The data is collected through three focus groups which explore “Categories of Local Tourism products/services”, “Education, Training, and Awareness Raising”, and “Design structures of a Digital Platform”. The participants of the focus groups were community leaders, local business owners, entrepreneurs, and tourism association representatives. The findings contribute to our understanding of supporting local entrepreneurism through digital platforms and help to make the world a better place with Information Systems

Distributed Manufacturing: A High-Level Node-Based Concept for Open Source Hardware Production

Distributed manufacturing is presented as a means to enable sustainable production and collaboration. Rather than rely on centralised production, distributed manufacturing promises to improve the flexibility and resilience to meet urgent production demands. New frameworks of production, based on manufacturing models with distributed networks, may provide functional examples to industrial practice. This paper discusses efforts in distributed production in the context of Free/Open source hardware and devises a conceptual framework for future pilots at which open source machines, such as a desktop 3D printer, may be manufactured in a network of open/fab lab nodes

Open Principles in New Business Models for Information Systems

Open source software and open innovation are an important resource for today’s industries. Communities collaboratively create different kind of publicly available value, boosting innovation and also technology. However, whereas this value is generated and captured by various involved parties, the outcomes are, in many cases, commercialized by companies who build their business models on this openness. Thus, current business model representations used for these open systems mainly focus on the commercial side of companies, not directly regarding the value creation and distribution by the underlying communities. This results in a lack of potential representation of alternative value created by individuals and communities that are not necessarily aiming for direct monetary compensation. In this work, we show, by the example of open source projects, how communities create value and their potential to be represented by the upcoming domain of new business models. The emerging idea of new business models, based on sharing, collaboration, and the circular economy, not only considers economical viewpoints, but also social and ecological. New trends in research are intensively starting to investigate these models and how they can be brought to practice. The co-creation of value, collaboration of various actors, and following a shared vision are just some of the identified overlaps that are also essential for a potential representation of open communities. This first review unveils that new business models and open source software projects have a variety of aspects in common. We highlight the potential of open communities to be seen as new business models themselves, instead of just being a pure enabler for firms’ business models. This approach is leaving room to explore new organizational and economical aspects of open ecosystems, enhancing the understanding of co-creative communities and the definition of collaborative value

Understanding the Role of Intellectual Property in Digital Technology-based Startups: Decisions and Dynamics

Intellectual property (IP) has taken a central place as a source of competitive advantage in firms’ strategies. However, our knowledge on how IP is used by these firms in the digital age is still limited. The increasing prevalence of digital technologies further emphasizes the importance of intangible assets such as IP, while raising an open question with regard to how these assets should be selected and used to support business models and strategies. This thesis aims to address this question in the context of digital technology-based startups, which are in many ways at the forefront of advancing new digital technologies, business models and industries. By conducting a multiple case study of seven startups over the course of two years, the development of these startups’ IP strategies was mapped and analyzed resulting in two empirical papers on top of a literature review.This thesis notes the impact of the characteristics of digital technologies on the process and dynamics of IP strategy formation. Digital technology is systemic and can be developed on a more or less ongoing basis. As a result, IP decisions need to be flexible to enable and adapt to changes in technologies, business models and strategies. Moreover, the development of IP strategy through successive decision-making is based on available means to allow for goals to emerge rather than to be set in advance. The design of IP strategy therefore ends up fitting the design of digital technology in terms of its systemic structure and its development in which all outcomes cannot be envisioned in advance but are prepared for through incompleteness and flexibility in the design of decision-making