Entrepreneurial actions and the legitimation of free/open source software services

Free/open source software users were previously responsible for managing the challenges associated with their software themselves. Recently, a new generation of entrepreneurs seized this emerging market opportunity by positioning themselves as service providers for free/open source software users. Conceptualizing such providers as “institutional entrepreneurs,” we find that due to the nature of the free/open source software context, they exhibit a different set of legitimation actions compared with similar efforts in other contexts. Based on our empirical analysis of free/open source software service providers and drawing on prior theory, we identify two entrepreneurial actions aimed at gaining legitimacy specific to the free/open source software context, namely, product-based theorization actions and evangelization actions. We also demonstrate that institutional entrepreneurship is shaped by the nature of free/open source software products and the openness values at the core of the free/open source software movement. Our work hence underscores the importance of the context of institutional entrepreneurship

Healthcare service innovation based on information technology: The role of social values alignment

The electronic personal health record (ePHR) is an information technology (IT) de- signed for patients’ empowerment in health self-management. Its actual implementation remains less than expected due to two main barriers that must be addressed by ePHRs’ providers: lack of trust in providers with regards to data privacy and lack of flexibility of the tool. In this study, we suggest that to potentially overcome these two challenges, ePHRs could be provided by health cooperatives (co-ops) in collaboration with open source devel- opment communities that share similar values. Based on the concept of social alignment that focuses on values, we explore the potential social bi-alignments between the values underlying the mission of health co-ops and the purpose of ePHRs, and between the founda- tional values of health co-ops and open source development communities. We also explore the effect of such potential social values alignments on health co-ops’ interest in innovat- ing with an ePHR-based service. To achieve our research objectives, 17 interviews were conducted in health co-ops in Quebec, a province of Canada where the network of health co-ops is particularly active. Our findings show that the concept of social values alignment is useful in the context of ePHR-based service innovation in health co-ops. However, our data analysis shows that social values alignment is not sufficient for healthcare service innovation to happen. Indeed, our findings lead us toward the concept of organizational readiness to better understand what is required to increase the likelihood of ePHR-based service innovation in health co-ops. This study culminates with the undertaking of theo- retical development where we propose a conceptual model of IT-based service innovation in healthcare organizations by expanding on our findings and on insights from the liter- ature

A DELPHI STUDY OF OBSOLETE ASSUMPTIONS IN FREE/LIBRE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

Free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) has evolved significantly over the past 20 years and estimates suggest that it accounts for 80-90% of any given piece of modern software. A consequence of this evolution is that many of the assumptions made by FLOSS researchers may be obsolete. This would have major negative implications for research validity and hampers theory generation on FLOSS. This study sought to identify significant obsolete assumptions that persist in FLOSS research. Using Delphi research design with a panel of 20 expert researchers, 21 obsolete assumptions about FLOSS were identified and ranked. We performed a thematic analysis and grouped these obsolete assumptions into six themes: Sampling, Project/Community, Product, Contributor, Evaluation, and Development Process. The Sampling theme was ranked as having the most significant obsolete assumptions although only two assumptions were associated with this theme. The Project/Community theme contained six obsolete assumptions – the most of any theme

Towards solving social and technical problems in open source software ecosystems : using cause-and-effect analysis to disentangle the causes of complex problems

Managing large-scale development projects in open source software ecosystems involves dealing with an array of technical and social problems. To disentangle the causes of such problems, we interviewed experts and performed a cause-and-effect analysis. Our findings demonstrate that loss of contributors is the most important social problem, while poor code quality is the most important technical problem, and that both problems result from complex socio-technical interrelations of causes. Our approach suggests that cause-and-effect analysis can help to better understand problems in open source software ecosystems

Organizational Decision to Adopt Chatbot Technology: The Role of Organizing Vision and Technological Frame

This research project aims to explore the socio-cognitive determinants of the organizational adoption of artificial intelligence based chatbot by insurance companies. Technological frame and reception of organizing vision are used as conceptual foundations. A mixed method approach consisting of qualitative interviews and a quantitative questionnaire will serve as input to a Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Main expected contribution is an understanding of the combined effect of technological frame and reception of organizing vision on organizational adoption of information technology

Advancing laboratory medicine in hospitals through health information exchange : a survey of specialist physicians in Canada

Background: Laboratory testing occupies a prominent place in health care. Information technology systems havethe potential to empower laboratory experts and to enhance the interpretation of test results in order to bettersupport physicians in their quest for better and safer patient care. This study sought to develop a better understanding ofwhich laboratory information exchange (LIE) systems and features specialist physicians are using in hospital settings toconsult their patients’laboratory test results, and what benefit they derive from such use. Methods: As part of a broader research program on the use of health information exchange systems for laboratorymedicine in Quebec, Canada, this study was designed as on online survey. Our sample is composed of 566 specialist physicians working in hospital settings, out of the 1512 physicians who responded to the survey (response rate of 17%).Respondents are representative of the targeted population of specialist physicians in terms of gender, age and hospital location.Results: We first observed that 80% of the surveyed physicians used the province-wide interoperable electronic health records (iEHR) system and 93% used a laboratory results viewer (LRV) to consult laboratory test results and most (72%) useboth systems to retrieve lab results. Next, our findings reveal important differences in the capabilities available in eachtype of system and in the use of these capabilities. Third, there are differences in the nature of the perceived benefits obtained from the use of each of these two systems. Last, the extent of use of an LRV is strongly influenced by the ITartefact itself (i.e., the hospital’s LRV available capabilities) while the use of the provincial iEHR system is influenced by its organizational context (i.e. the hospital’s size and location). Conclusions: The main contribution of this study lies in its insights into the role played by context in shaping physicians’ choices about which laboratory information exchange systems to adopt and which features to use, and the different perceptions they have about benefits arising from such use.One related implication for practice is that success of LIE initiatives should not be solely assessed with basic usage statistics

“The Dose Makes the Poison” - Exploring the Toxicity Phenomenon in Online Communities

Information technology usage has positive aspects, but it has been acknowledged that there also exist negative ones that must be studied in more depth. Behaviors such as teasing and abusing are a main concern for online community leaders. Indeed, they recurrently use the words “toxic” and “poison” to qualify behaviors threatening their communities’ survival. Online community health has been defined as the extent to which the vital systems of an online community are continuously performing normally. This definition is based on the metaphor of “online community as a living organism”, which brings the focus on the inner workings of communities and is particularly suited to study behaviors occurring within it. We mobilize this organismic metaphor and borrow ideas from the Toxicology discipline to propose a theory of toxicity in online communities. We offer an exploratory and illustrative empirical validation of the theory in the context of free/open source software communities

Healthcare service innovation based on information technology: The role of social values alignment

The electronic personal health record (ePHR) is an information technology (IT) de- signed for patients’ empowerment in health self-management. Its actual implementation remains less than expected due to two main barriers that must be addressed by ePHRs’ providers: lack of trust in providers with regards to data privacy and lack of flexibility of the tool. In this study, we suggest that to potentially overcome these two challenges, ePHRs could be provided by health cooperatives (co-ops) in collaboration with open source devel- opment communities that share similar values. Based on the concept of social alignment that focuses on values, we explore the potential social bi-alignments between the values underlying the mission of health co-ops and the purpose of ePHRs, and between the founda- tional values of health co-ops and open source development communities. We also explore the effect of such potential social values alignments on health co-ops’ interest in innovat- ing with an ePHR-based service. To achieve our research objectives, 17 interviews were conducted in health co-ops in Quebec, a province of Canada where the network of health co-ops is particularly active. Our findings show that the concept of social values alignment is useful in the context of ePHR-based service innovation in health co-ops. However, our data analysis shows that social values alignment is not sufficient for healthcare service innovation to happen. Indeed, our findings lead us toward the concept of organizational readiness to better understand what is required to increase the likelihood of ePHR-based service innovation in health co-ops. This study culminates with the undertaking of theo- retical development where we propose a conceptual model of IT-based service innovation in healthcare organizations by expanding on our findings and on insights from the liter- ature.