Open Source Software and the “Private-Collective” Innovation Model: Issues for Organization Science

Currently two models of innovation are prevalent in organization science. The "private investment" model assumes returns to the innovator results from private goods and efficient regimes of intellectual property protection. The "collective action" model assumes that under conditions of market failure, innovators collaborate in order to produce a public good. The phenomenon of open source software development shows that users program to solve their own as well as shared technical problems, and freely reveal their innovations without appropriating private returns from selling the software. In this paper we propose that open source software development is an exemplar of a compound model of innovation that contains elements of both the private investment and the collective action models. We describe a new set of research questions this model raises for scholars in organization science. We offer some details regarding the types of data available for open source projects in order to ease access for researchers who are unfamiliar with these, and als

CROSSROADS—Identifying Viable “Need–Solution Pairs”: Problem Solving Without Problem Formulation

Problem-solving research and formal problem-solving practice begin with the assumption that a problem has been identified or formulated for solving. The problem-solving process then involves a search for a satisfactory or optimal solution to that problem. In contrast, we propose that, in informal problem solving, a need and a solution are often discovered together and tested for viability as a “need–solution pair.” For example, one may serendipitously discover a new solution and assess it to be worth adopting although the “problem” it would address had not previously been in mind as an object of search or even awareness. In such a case, problem identification and formulation, if done at all, come only after the discovery of the need–solution pair. We propose the identification of need–solution pairs as an approach to problem solving in which problem formulation is not required. We argue that discovery of viable need–solution pairs without problem formulation may have advantages over problem-initiated problem-solving methods under some conditions. First, it removes the often considerable costs associated with problem formulation. Second, it eliminates the constraints on possible solutions that any problem formulation will inevitably apply

The CC Model as Organizational Design Striving to Combine Relevance and Rigor

This paper addresses the design problem of ensuring engaged research's rigorous relevance and, especially, its implications regarding the engaged researcher's role. As a theoretical background, this paper firstly uses the "role concept” from the Business Engineering discipline where "role” is a fundamental element of generic method description. Secondly, it uses the "Design Science” paradigm's generic guidelines for the assessment of research activities and results to ensure that they meet both the rigor and relevance criteria. Based on these theories, the paper finally describes and discusses a collaborative research mode of practitioners and academics called the "Competence Center Model” (CC model). This model is a useful case to study what researchers actually do when they strive to combine rigor and relevance. With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible to discuss this research practice's effectiveness and its implied benefits for and strains on the researcher's rol

Under the radar: Industry entry by user entrepreneurs

We inductively develop a model of the commercialization process for new products or services user entrepreneurs undertake when entering an industry while drawing on proprietary technology developed in another industry. Extending the growing field of user entrepreneurship, we identify a two-phase approach to industry entry by user entrepreneurs who start "under the radar" of incumbent firms, gain experience, attract a first potential customer base, and then, in a second phase, engage in commercialization. During this process, a community of fellow users is of major importance for the entrepreneur, serving as a knowledge pool for skills development and experimentation with different commercialization paths. We study a nascent group of firms founded by users of video games who became entrepreneurs on entering the animation industry by producing Machinima, a new film genre characterized by shooting film in video games. We explain how user entrepreneurs gain access to complementary assets (video games) for their new use (shooting film), how they deal with intellectual property issues when using other firms' assets, and how user entrepreneurs combine domain knowledge about film production with their experience in video games and the art of Machinima. Our propositions hold implications for management and policy

Why do commercial companies contribute to open source software?

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link belowMany researchers have pointed out that the opensource movement is an interesting phenomenon that is difficult to explain with conventional economic theories. However, while there is no shortage on research on individuals’ motivation for contributing to opensource, few have investigated the commercial companies’ motivations for doing the same. A case study was conducted at three different companies from the IT service industry, to investigate three possible drivers: sale of complimentary services, innovation and open sourcing (outsourcing). We offer three conclusions. First, we identified three main drivers for contributing to opensource, which are (a) selling complimentary services, (b) building greater innovative capability and (c) cost reduction through open sourcing to an external community. Second, while previous research has documented that the most important driver is selling complimentary services, we found that this picture is too simple. Our evidence points to a broader set of motivations, in the sense that all our cases exhibit combinations of the three drivers. Finally, our findings suggest that there might be a shift in how commercial companies view opensource software. The companies interviewed have all expressed a moral obligation to contribute to open source

Environmental enrichment and its effects on telencephalic neurogenesis and behaviour in isolated adult zebrafish, Danio rerio

Adult neurogenesis has been subject to increasing interest over the past decades. In fish, this ability to create new neurons is impressive compared to most other vertebrate taxa. Several factors are known to influence adult neurogenesis, like environmental enrichment, learning, exercise, stress and aging. In this study, zebrafish were isolated and exposed to two different environments, a barren environment (control group) and an enriched environment (enriched group). The enriched environment was aquaria supplied with gravel and plastic plants, while the barren aquaria were left empty. Neurogenesis in the zebrafish was determined by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) – immunohistochemistry. After development of a suitable protocol, this method gave staining of a quality that allowed quantification of stained nuclei in the telencephalic tissue. Number of PCNA positive cells per telencephalic volume, response time to distributed food, locomotion activity, cortisol levels and growth rate were measured and compared between the groups. Environmental enrichment led to a strong tendency towards higher neurogenesis, which is in concert with several studies performed of mammals. Also, a significantly higher inter-individual variation in number of new telencephalic cells was observed in the enriched group, indicating that heterogenic environments leads to greater heterogeneity in neurogenesis within a population. Response time to the distributed food was not significantly different between the groups, although the enriched group tended to have longer response time. The control group had significantly higher locomotor activity than the enriched group. In both experimental groups, the effect of time was significant and led to a decrease in both response time and locomotor activity. Whole-body cortisol levels were significantly higher in the enriched group, although this was likely an effect of longer capture time in this environment. This is the first study to examine environmental enrichment and its effects on neurogenesis and behaviour in zebrafish

What makes a social practice? Being, knowing, doing and leading

Despite several decades of work on social practice, many open intriguing questions remain about their existence and functions within an organizational context. In this article, we discuss the “inherent logics” of social practice—being, knowing, and doing—to depict the meaning and mainspring of its conservation within an organizational context. We argue that the understanding of social practice in organization and management studies has predominantly focused on the internal workings of social practice, and we propose that a contextualization of the inherent logics of social practice may be a next step in advancing theory and empirical research. We propose a contested coexistence of social practices in organizations and thereby argue that the conservation of social practice protrudes another element belonging to its inherent logics, i.e., leading. We suggest that leadership in distributed and adaptive organizations responds to innovation and competitive challenges with wisdom, care, and fluidity