Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Organisations: The Case of Open Source Software Communities

The knowledge-based economy, where everything and everybody is just one click away, has formed the foundation for a new organisational form. The term ‘virtual organisation’ (VO) reflects the emergence of a new organisational form with a record of success in the modern business environment, where knowledge has become a key component. Managing knowledge is the main driver in the knowledge-based economy. One of the best examples of such organisational forms with successful knowledge sharing processes is open source software (OSS) communities. This justifies my thesis, which undertakes primary research in OSS communities via qualitative and quantitative studies to find out how and to what extent knowledge is shared in those communities, in order to develop a Model for successful knowledge sharing processes in the VOs. The following factors in the Model, which influence the level of personal contribution in the OSS communities, were found. The level of personal contribution as an indicator to knowledge sharing for product innovation is a result of a combination of individual factors as well as individual opinion on the organisational factors. Factors such as an education level/explicit knowledge, incentives/benefits for the future and monetary reward do not play a role on their own, but they influence the level of roles and the level of activeness, which in turn influence the level of knowledge sharing, which is important for the level of personal contribution on product innovation. Personal and work related motivations are important factors to successful knowledge sharing inside OSS communities. However, most importantly, the level of personal contribution towards product innovation is a result of the satisfaction of individuals by the management of the OSS communities, identification with these communities and trust inside of these communities. The developed Model shows that organisational factors are more important than individual factors for successful knowledge sharing inside OSS communities from an individual’s perspective

Cybersecurity Economics – Balancing Operational Security Spending

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to find the optimal investment level in protecting an organisation’s assets. Design/methodology/approach This study integrates a case study of an international financial organisation with various methods and theories in security economics and mathematics, such as value-at-risk (VaR), Monte Carlo simulation, exponential and Poisson probability distributions. Thereby it combines theory and empirical findings to establish a new approach to determining optimal security investment levels. Findings The results indicate that optimal security investment levels can be found through computer simulation with historical incident data to find VaR. By combining various scenarios, the convex graph of the risk cost function has been plotted, where the minimum of the graph represents the optimal invest level for an asset. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the research include a modest number of loss observations from one case study, and the use of normal probability distribution. The approach has limitations where there are no historical data available or the data has zero losses. These areas should undergo further research including larger data set of losses and exploring other probability distributions. Practical implications The results can be used by leading business practitioners to assist them with decision making on investment to the increased protection of an asset. Originality/value The originality of this research is in its new way of combining theories with historical data to create methods to measure theoretical and empirical strength of a control (or set of controls) and translating it to loss probabilities and loss sizes

Sustainability: insights from a business model perspective

This paper uses business model perspective to understand how different organisations can through their corporate sustainability policies contribute to the social innovation/entrepreneurship processes. Since the current literature on social innovation concentrates on an individual level and the topic of social entrepreneurs, we propose a wider view of the scene. We analyse how social innovation can be a part of a business model (design) on one hand; and how the social innovation can be sustainable as a result of the integration with the business models on the other hand. In our analysis, we identify four levels of business involvement in which organisations can both contribute and benefit from innovative social goods or support social innovation. An organisation may address social needs as a part of its marketing strategy, offsets, R&D model, or as a core-business idea. We argue that in any of these situations a company can benefit from supporting social innovation, for instance by good brand recognition, positive associations, innovative products and services, new markets, etc. Fulfilling social needs may be either a by-product of business-oriented activities, such as investigation of existing demand, addressing specific groups of potential customers, inventing a new market segments; or because of the external pressures such as legal regulations or public protests

Trust and reciprocity effect on electronic word-of-mouth in online review communities

Purpose Social media developments in the last decade have led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM) in the digital environment. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered by many scholars and practitioners to be the most influential informal communication mechanism between businesses and potential and actual consumers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about WOM in this new context by proposing a conceptual framework that enables a better understanding of how trust and reciprocity influence eWOM participation in ORCs. Design/methodology/approach This study applies non-probability convenience sampling technique to conduct a quantitative study of data from an online survey of 189 members of ORCs. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyse the correlations between individuals’ intention to seek opinion, to give their own opinion and to pass on the opinion of another within ORCs. Findings The data analysis reveals that opinion seeking within ORCs had a direct effect on opinion giving and opinion passing. Ability trust and integrity trust had a positive effect on opinion seeking, while benevolence trust had a direct positive effect on opinion passing. Reciprocity had a direct impact on opinion passing. While reciprocity did not affect opinion giving, the relationship between these two concepts was mediated by integrity trust. Research limitations/implications By studying the complexities that characterise the relationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM, the study extends understanding of eWOM in ORCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of only a few papers that have examined the complex interrelationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM in the context of ORCs

Grasping the Business Value of Online Communities

This paper investigates the definitions, dimensions and classifications of online communities together with their potential to produce value for business. Those value options are then discussed in the context of empirical vignettes showing examples of business models focused on one of two potential benefits coming from online communities – clear financial gains and intangible long-run returns. This paper uses systematic literature review method. In total 67 academic paper in the area of business and management were chosen for the analysis. The literature review shows multitude of online communities definitions and classifications, but hardly any comprehensive attempt to map the phenomena in full. This paper is looking into recognising potential revenue streams from online businesses and other non-financial benefits that can be combined to create strong and sustainable value proposition. Drawing on the literature reviewed a novel categorisation of the commercial opportunities offered by online communities is presented. These opportunities are discussed in a context of business model design

Cybersecurity economics – balancing operational security spending

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to find the optimal investment level in protecting an organisation’s assets. Design/methodology/approach This study integrates a case study of an international financial organisation with various methods and theories in security economics and mathematics, such as value-at-risk (VaR), Monte Carlo simulation, exponential and Poisson probability distributions. Thereby it combines theory and empirical findings to establish a new approach to determining optimal security investment levels. Findings The results indicate that optimal security investment levels can be found through computer simulation with historical incident data to find VaR. By combining various scenarios, the convex graph of the risk cost function has been plotted, where the minimum of the graph represents the optimal invest level for an asset. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the research include a modest number of loss observations from one case study, and the use of normal probability distribution. The approach has limitations where there are no historical data available or the data has zero losses. These areas should undergo further research including larger data set of losses and exploring other probability distributions. Practical implications The results can be used by leading business practitioners to assist them with decision making on investment to the increased protection of an asset. Originality/value The originality of this research is in its new way of combining theories with historical data to create methods to measure theoretical and empirical strength of a control (or set of controls) and translating it to loss probabilities and loss sizes

Knowledge sharing in open source software communities: motivations and management

Purpose This paper aims to add to the understanding of knowledge sharing in online communities through an investigation of the relationship between individual participant’s motivations and management in open source software (OSS) communities. Drawing on a review of literature concerning knowledge sharing in organisations, the factors that motivate participants to share their knowledge in OSS communities, and the management of such communities, it is hypothesised that the quality of management influences the extent to which the motivations of members actually result in knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypothesis, quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire survey of OSS web developers with the aim of gathering respondents’ opinions concerning knowledge sharing, motivations to share knowledge and satisfaction with the management of OSS projects. Factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to explore the survey data. Findings The analysis of the data reveals that the individual participant’s satisfaction with the management of an OSS project is an important factor influencing the extent of their personal contribution to a community. Originality/value Little attention has been devoted to understanding the impact of management in OSS communities. Focused on OSS developers specialising in web development, the findings of this paper offer an important original contribution to understanding the connections between individual members’ satisfaction with management and their motivations to contribute to an OSS project. The findings reveal that motivations to share knowledge in online communities are influenced by the quality of management. Consequently, the findings suggest that appropriate management can enhance knowledge sharing in OSS projects and online communities, and organisations more generally

Trust as a Success Factor in Open Innovation. The Case of NOKIA and GNOME

This chapter analyzes trust, open innovation, and software development modes. Basing on the case of GNOME – Nokia collaboration, it shows how trust can be perceived as a strategic resource, which is actually the crucial ingredient of successful collaboration. The dichotomy of the professional (expert) trust and the political trust is proposed as an interpretive key to understanding trust enactment in open source communities

Knowledge sharing in open source software communities: motivations and management

Purpose: this article seeks to add to understandings of knowledge sharing in online communities through an investigation of the relationship between individual participant’s motivations and management in Open Source Software (OSS) communities. Drawing on a review of literature concerning knowledge sharing in organisations, the factors that motivate participants to share their knowledge in OSS communities, and the management of such communities, it is hypothesised that the quality of management influences the extent to which the motivations of members actually result in knowledge sharing.Methodology: to test the hypothesis, quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire survey of OSS web developers with the aim of gathering respondents’ opinions concerning knowledge sharing, motivations to share knowledge, and satisfaction with the management of OSS projects. Factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were employed to explore the survey data.Findings: the analysis of the data reveals that the individual participant’s satisfaction with the management of an OSS project is an important factor influencing the extent of their personal contribution to a community.Originality: little attention has been devoted to understanding the impact of management in OSS communities. Focused on OSS developers specialising in web development, the findings of this article offer an important original contribution to understanding the connections between individual members’ satisfaction with management and their motivations to contribute to an OSS project. The findings reveal that motivations to share knowledge in online communities are influenced by the quality of management. Consequently, the findings suggest that appropriate management can enhance knowledge sharing in OSS projects and online communities, and organisations more generally

Sustainability: insights from a business model perspective

This paper uses business model perspective to understand how different organisations can through their corporate sustainability policies contribute to the social innovation/entrepreneurship processes. Since the current literature on social innovation concentrates on an individual level and the topic of social entrepreneurs, we propose a wider view of the scene. We analyse how social innovation can be a part of a business model (design) on one hand; and how the social innovation can be sustainable as a result of the integration with the business models on the other hand. In our analysis, we identify four levels of business involvement in which organisations can both contribute and benefit from innovative social goods or support social innovation. An organisation may address social needs as a part of its marketing strategy, offsets, R&D model, or as a core-business idea. We argue that in any of these situations a company can benefit from supporting social innovation, for instance by good brand recognition, positive associations, innovative products and services, new markets, etc. Fulfilling social needs may be either a by-product of business-oriented activities, such as investigation of existing demand, addressing specific groups of potential customers, inventing a new market segments; or because of the external pressures such as legal regulations or public protests