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- 2022
- White Paper
Census II of Free and Open Source Software - Application Libraries
By: Frank Nagle, James Dana, Jennifer Hoffman, Steven Randazzo and Yanuo Zhou
Produced in partnership with Harvard Laboratory for Innovation Science (LISH) and the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), Census II is the second investigation into the widespread use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). The Census II effort utilizes data... View Details
- 2018
- Working Paper
The State of Open Source Server Software
By: Shane Greenstein and Klaus Ackermann
The study assembles new data to construct a census of worldwide web server use across the globe. We document a large concentration of investment in the United States, and a wide dispersion across scores of countries. We find tens of billions of dollars of unmeasured... View Details
- May 2022
- Article
Strengthening Digital Infrastructure: A Policy Agenda for Free and Open Source Software
By: Frank Nagle
While there is little debate that digital forces are playing an increasingly crucial role in the economy, there
is limited understanding of the importance of the digital infrastructure that underlies this role. Much of the
discussion around digital infrastructure has... View Details
- July 2004 (Revised September 2005)
- Case
Novell: Open Source Software Strategy
Describes Novell's open source software strategy and the business environment in which it has arisen. Introduces open source software and strategies based on open source and offers opportunities to discuss IT strategy, IT management, and organizational change. One key... View Details
- 19 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship
- 24 Feb 2020
- Research & Ideas
The Hidden Vulnerabilities of Open Source Software
Commonly used free and open source software (FOSS) is one of the most significant technological trends of the decade. After all, 80-90 percent of a typical application contains... View Details
- November – December 2011
- Article
Competitive Strategy for Open Source Software
By: Vineet Kumar, Brett Gordon and Kannan Srinivasan
Commercial open source software (COSS) products-privately developed software based on publicly available source code-represent a rapidly growing, multibillion-dollar market. A unique aspect of competition in the COSS market is that many open source licenses require... View Details
- 2019
- Article
Overcoming Cultural Resistance to Open Source Innovation
By: John Winsor, Jin Hyun Paik, Michael Tushman and Karim R. Lakhani
Purpose: This article offers insight on how to effectively help incumbent organizations prepare for global business shifts to open source and digital business models.
Design/methodology/approach: Discussion related to observation, experience and case studies... View Details
Design/methodology/approach: Discussion related to observation, experience and case studies... View Details
- September 2023
- Technical Note
Free and Open Source Software and Hardware
By: Frank Nagle
This technical note surveys the concepts of free and open source software and hardware. It introduces the concepts in general, providing a brief history of their development and numerous examples of how companies employ them in practice. Further, it identifies various... View Details
- 2024
- Working Paper
The Value of Open Source Software
By: Manuel Hoffmann, Frank Nagle and Yanuo Zhou
The value of a non-pecuniary (free) product is inherently difficult to assess. A pervasive
example is open source software (OSS), a global public good that plays a vital role in the economy
and is foundational for most technology we use today. However, it is... View Details
- 11 Jan 2010
- Research & Ideas
Mixing Open Source and Proprietary Software Strategies
Adopting a new business model can be a strategic, game-changing play in any industry. But knowing when and how to try something new can be tricky, particularly in the constantly evolving software industry. The View Details
Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software
What is the status of the Free and Open Source Software (F/OSS) revolution? Has the creation of software... View Details
- March 2019
- Article
Open Source Software and Firm Productivity
By: Frank Nagle
As open source software (OSS) is increasingly used as a key input by firms, understanding its impact on productivity becomes critical. This study measures the firm-level productivity impact of nonpecuniary (free) OSS and finds a positive and significant value-added... View Details
- November 2023
- Article
Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship
By: Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle and Shane Greenstein
This is the first study to consider the relationship between open source software (OSS) and
entrepreneurship around the globe. This study measures whether country-level participation on
the GitHub OSS platform affects the founding of innovative ventures, and where it... View Details
- 05 Sep 2018
- Research & Ideas
The Hidden Benefit of Giving Back to Open Source Software
pixelfit Companies that contribute to open source software and use it in their own IT systems and applications can gain a competitive advantage—even though they may be helping... View Details
- 2020
- Working Paper
How Competition Affects Contributions to Open Source Platforms: Evidence from OpenStreetMap and Google Maps
By: Abhishek Nagaraj and Henning Piezunka
Open source platforms often face competition from commercial alternatives and yet we lack an understanding of whether and how commercial competition affects contributions to open source platforms. We study how contributions to OpenStreetMap, a widely-used open source... View Details
- 2005
- Book
Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software
By: Joe Feller, Brian Fitzgerald, Scott Hissam and Karim R. Lakhani
- 2024
- Working Paper
Contributing to Growth? The Role of Open Source Software for Global Startups
By: Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle and Shane Greenstein
How does participating in open source software (OSS) communities spur entrepreneurial growth?
To address this question, we analyze novel data matching accounts from GitHub—the largest OSS
hosting platform—to the universe of global software venture-backed firms... View Details
- 2015
- Working Paper
Crowdsourced Digital Goods and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Open Source Software
By: Frank Nagle
As firms increasingly rely on crowdsourced digital goods, understanding their impact on productivity becomes critical. This study measures the firm-level productivity impact of one such good, non-pecuniary (free) open source software (OSS). The results show a... View Details