Hello Air-Lers, Hope everyone is doing well. Please find below the following new papers, thesis and a book on opensource.mit.edu|freesoftware.mit.edu. Thanks to all the authors for their submissions. Please provide feedback to the authors directly. Until next time - best wishes -- Karim R. Lakhani MIT Sloan | The Boston Consulting Group Mobile: +1 (617) 851-1224 http://spoudaiospaizen.net http://web.mit.edu/lakhani/www | http://opensource.mit.edu Paper 1 Authors: Elliott, Margret & Walter Scacchi Title: Mobilization of Software Developers: The Free Software Movement http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/elliottscacchi2.pdf Abstract: Free/open source software (F/OSS) development projects are growing at a rapid rate. Globally dispersed virtual communities with large groups of software developers contribute time and effort often without pay. One force behind this phenomenon is the Free Software Movement (FSM), a 20 year-old social movement whose purpose is to promote the use of free software instead of proprietary software. We show how the ideology of the FSM influences software development work practices in F/OSS communities and how an occupational community of F/OSS developers has emerged from this movement. We present results from an empirical study of a F/OSS development community, GNUenterprise (GNUe) whose purpose is to build an Enterprise Resource Planning system. We show how the beliefs in freedom and freedom of choice, and the values of cooperative work and community building are manifested in the GNUe norms of informal self-management, immediate acceptance of fellow contributors, and open disclos ure. Paper 2 Author: Henkel, Joachim Title: The Jukebox Mode of Innovation: a Model of Commercial Open Source Development http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/henkel.pdf Abstract: In this paper, I explore the circumstances under which innovation processes without secrecy or intellectual property protection are viable, and where free revealing of innovations is a profit-maximizing strategy. Motivated by an empirical study of embedded Linux, I develop a duopoly model of quality competition. Firms require two complementary technologies as inputs, but differ with respect to the relative importance of these technologies. I find that a regime with compulsory revealing can lead to higher product qualities and higher profits than a proprietary regime. When the decision to reveal is endogenized, equilibria with voluntary revealing arise, again superior to the proprietary outcome. Paper 3 Author: Lin, Yuwei Title: Epistemologically Multiple Actor-Centred System: or EMACS at Work! http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/lin.pdf Abstract: This paper analyses the innovation process of EMACS (short for Editing MACroS) from a socio-technical perspective. I investigates how actors from different backgrounds contribute multiple ways of knowing, understanding and resolving problems that arise in the innovation process. The analysis of EMACS is especially useful since it spans the period that saw the origins of the free software movement and the subsequent development of a broader free/libre open source software (FLOSS) social world. Paper 4 Suzor, Nic, Brian Fitzgerald & Graham Bassett Title: Legal Issues for the Use of Free and Open Source Software in Government http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/suzorfitzgeraldbasset.pdf Abstract: This paper examines some of the legal issues that face the uptake of free and open source software in government in Australia. This paper was presented at the 'Linux and Open Source in Government' conference, part of Linux.Conf.Au 2004 in Adelaide, Australia. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MS Thesis 1 Author: Peng, Zheshi Title: Linux Adoption by Firms http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/peng.pdf Abstract: The objective of this study is to examine the evolution of the market for Linux based products for the 1993-2003 period. Using data on 317 Linux suppliers available online, the differences in firms’ size and in their first products were explored across the adoption stages of the Linux life cycle. Then two temporal patterns of the Linux-market were identified: changes in the entry rate of new Linux suppliers and changes in product diversity. Finally, the attributes of the partnerships formed by four major Linux distributors were examined. The study determined whether the number of partnerships formed by Linux distributors was related to the number of new entrants, whether the motives for partnerships formed by Linux distributors varied over adoption stages, and whether the type of partner selected by Linux distributors was a function of partnership motive. This study builds on the literature on open source software and traditional theories of technology adoption to make three important contributions. First, it develops a method to identify the stages of the life of a new technology. Secondly, it provides a way to measure the temporal patterns of the evolution of a new market. Finally, it validates the density dependence model using data on open source. MS Thesis 2 Author: Matuska, Martin Title: Kategorisierung von Open Source Projekten: Aufbau- und Ablauforganisation (in german) - Categorization of Open Source Projects: Operational and Organizational Structure http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/matuska.pdf Abstract: The number of open source projects is growing. The largest part can be found on large develompent portals. But open source is not open source, each project has unique characteristics. This paper examines operational and organizational characteristics, licencing, communication and documentation specifications of open source projects and explains the trove categorization model introduced by SourceForge.net. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Editors: Fitzgerald, Brian & Bassett Graham Title: Legal Issues Relating to Free and Open Source Software http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/opensourcelawbook.pdf Abstract: This is the publication that follows the 'Legal Issues Relating to Free and Open Source Software Conference' that was held in Brisbane, Australia on 3 July 2002. The conference examined legal and business issues facing the development and implementation of free and open source software. The presenters were lawyers, academics and software developers expert in the area drawn from Australia and the USA.