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Free and
open source software (F/OSS) has existed in various
formats since the earliest days of computing. For
example, UNIX has benefited greatly from the
contributions and corrections submitted by numerous
programmers in response to their own personal needs.
In recent years, open source software has not only
been diffused into the general computing populace,
but several products such as Linux, the Apache web
server, and the MySQL
database have been able to challenge traditional
software firms such as Microsoft and Oracle. Many of
these traditional firms (like IBM, Oracle, Apple,
Cisco and Sun Microsystems) have taken major
initiatives to endorse and support various OSS
platforms, which endorsement paves the way for
businesses to adopt OSS as a serious, cost-effective
IT solution. This pattern of diffusion extends not
only to corporations but also to government
organizations around the world. The governments of
Brazil, China, and the UK, among others, have openly
promoted OSS as the preferred solution to build
national IT infrastructures.
In the last
few years, rigorous academic research has started to
appear in top MIS journals (e.g. MIS Quarterly,
Information Systems Research, and a special issue in
Management Science) and in journals from other
fields, such as management, economics, and
sociology. Researchers have begun examining the
unique organizational designs, social systems,
project management, collaborative technologies, and
product design methodologies inherent to open source
communities. Much of the early research focused on
understanding the individual motivations and
collective structure in the communities themselves.
This research offers new insights into the inner
workings of open source, but there are many areas in
which theoretical explanations have yet to emerge.
We invite
contributions that address business issues related
to the development, adoption, and use of open source
software. We strongly encourage research
incorporating creative or new applications of
theory, methodologies, and/or data sources.
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to,
the following: |
