Open Source Software in Complex Domains: Current Perceptions in the Embedded Systems Area

With Nokia’s 770 and N800 Internet Tablets heavily utilising Open Source software, it is timely to ask whether – and if so to what extent – Open Source has made ingress into complex application domains such as embedded systems. In this paper we report on a qualitative study of perceptions of Open Source software in the secondary software sector, and in particular companies deploying embedded software. Although the sector is historically associated in Open Source software studies with uptake of embedded Linux, we find broader acceptance. The level of reasoning about Open Source quality and trust issues found was commensurate with that expressed in the literature. The classical strengths of Open Source, namely mass inspection, ease of conducting trials, longevity and source code access for debugging, were at the forefront of thinking. However, there was an acknowledgement that more guidelines were needed for assessing and incorporating Open Source software in products

Open Source Technology Changes Intra-Organizational Systems Development - A Tale of Two Companies

This paper explores how two organizations have changed their software development practices by implementing Open Source technology. Our aim is to understand the institutional changes needed in and emerging from this process. The paper develops a conceptualization building on the insights of entrepreneurial institutionalism and concentrating on the changing relationships of organizational groups in the areas of reward and communication. We identify the links between the 1) emerging yet embedded technology and 2) the underlying institutional reward and communication structures. In terms of contribution, we propose to move the Open Source 2.0 research agenda forward by concentrating empirical work on th

An Empirical Investigation into the Assimilation of Open Source Server Software

In recent years, open source software (OSS) has become widely known and adopted in practice. In academic literature, an increasing number of studies on the adoption of OSS have been published to investigate which factors influence its adoption. However, most of these studies have an exploratory nature, and empirical support based on a large-scale quantitative study is still missing. To address this issue, we present the results of a large-scale quantitative study investigating the factors that influence the assimilation of open source server software (OSSS) by organizations. OSSS refers to open source software products such as operating systems, web servers and mail servers. We developed a conceptual model that describes the factors influencing the assimilation of OSSS. We gathered data from 210 Belgian organizations and analyzed it using PLS to test this conceptual model. The proposed model was able to explain a large proportion of the variance in the dependent variable in the model. Surprisingly, we have found no support for the influence of several widely claimed advantages of OSSS. Our findings further show that the assimilation of OSSS is predominantly influenced by the availability of internal and external knowledge of OSSS

Not accidental revolutionaries : essays on open source software production and organizational change

Open Source Software research has established that OSS technology (tools and practices) holds untapped potential. Based on a systematic literature review and a research engagement over a three-year period of data gathering, my dissertation describes how organizations leverage OSS practices to produce software. Leveraging OSS can be divided into two processes: 1) inbounding (moving public assets inside a company) and 2) outbounding(publishing) OSS. I outline the structural consequences these changes in software production entail and provoke. My research question is: What is the relation between local renegotiation of the term OSS and the organizational change provoked by OSS technology? I chose a qualitative approach to examine the case companies, informed by OSS research and institutional theory. The bulk of the data emerges from the industrial ITEA-COSI project, which focused on software commodification. I aim to provide a narrative of how the term OSS travels from the writings of enthusiasts to the daily work practices of software producing organizations. The findings underline the importance of local renegotiation of the term OSS. This renegotiation provokes structural changes in 1) the organizations that adopt OSS technology, but more widely also in 2) the industries these companies operate in. The main contribution of this research thesis, reported in four essays, is directed at two audiences: first, at academics, to promote the idea that OSS in organizations should be researched in a sensitivized manner. This requires moving away from too simplistic institutional contexts and ”the OSS business model”. Second, it is directed at practitioners, to reduce uncertainty about the adoption of OSS technology and to help build a capacity to accept, search for, motivate and reward contribution

Open source e-learning application adoption: Medical colleges in a developing world.

A review of normative literature, in the field of Electronic Learning (e-learning) implementation, indicates that traditional approaches to e-learning implementation in higher education have failed to result in cost effective, integrated and sustainable learning environment. In addressing this issue, a new movement called Open Source (OS) has emerged and addresses most of traditional e-learning application by resulting in the development of reusable and manageable platforms. The use of Open Source E-Leaming Applications (OSELA) in Higher Education Institutes (HEI) is a new research area with many research issues needing to be investigated. At this end, OSELA adoption has not efficiently studied with HEI and researchers needing to understand and analyze OSELA adoption.This work examines the introduction of Open Source E-Learning Applications in Higher Education Institutes and proposes a novel model for its adoption. The model is based on a comprehensive set of factors that influence the introduction of OSELA in HEI.The work is based on a qualitative case study approach to examine the concepts of the proposed model for the adoption of OSELA. In doing so, three case studies were conducted in Medical Higher Education Institutions. The case studies were presented and analyzed. However, some modifications were made to the conceptual model as some complementary factors emerged during the empirical research. The main factors that influence the adoption of OSELA are: (a) costs; (b) benefits; (c) barriers; (d) external pressures; (e) support; (f) level of IT sophistication; (g) limitations of existing IT infrastructure, (h) internal pressure and, (i) an evaluation framework that supports higher education institutes to assess OSELA.The proposed model makes novel contribution and can be used as a decision-making tool to support management when taking decisions regarding the adoption of OSELA. Additionally, it can be used by researchers to analyse and understand the adoption of Open Source Software for E-learning