Open Source - Publications - Faculty & Research

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 open View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Web Services

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

Keywords: Applications and Software; Open Source Distribution; Performance Productivity; Information Technology; Strategy

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09 Feb 2021
News

Open Source Developers Could be Worth Billions

The Comingled Code: Open Source and Economic Development

Discussions of the economic impact of open source software often generate more heat than light. Advocates passionately assert the benefits of open source while critics decry its effects. Missing from the debate is rigorous economic analysis and systematic economic... View Details

2010
Book

The Comingled Code: Open Source and Economic Development

By: Josh Lerner and Mark Schankerman

Discussions of the economic impact of open source software often generate more heat than light. Advocates passionately assert the benefits of open source, while critics decry its effects. Missing from the debate is rigorous economic analysis and systematic... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Economic Growth; Policy; Government and Politics; Open Source Distribution; Software

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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

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Business Ventures; Development Economics; Innovation and Invention; Global Range

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20 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation

scientific problem solving? Yes, and it comes from an unexpected and unrelated corner of the universe: open source software development. That's the view of Karim R. Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

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 their competitors in the short... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Computer

2024
Working Paper

Open Source Software Policy in Industry Equilibrium

Open source software (OSS) is a form of public knowledge widely provided and relied on by the private sector. To study the effects of growing government involvement in this critical public good, I build a new empirical model where high-tech firms choose software inputs... View Details

Citation

17 Jun 2008
Keynote Speech

Self-Organization in Open Source Development: Discussion

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Keywords: Product Development; Software

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June 2002
Article

Some Simple Economics of Open Source

By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole

Keywords: Economics

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2009
Working Paper

Industry Equilibrium with Open Source and Proprietary Firms

By: Gaston Llanes and Ramiro de Elejalde

We present a model of industry equilibrium to study the coexistence of Open Source (OS) and Proprietary (P) firms. Two novel aspects of the model are: (1) participation in OS arises as the optimal decision of profit-maximizing firms, and (2) OS and P firms may (or may... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Sharing; Industry Structures; Open Source Distribution; Research and Development

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Article

The Scope of Open Source Licensing

By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole

Keywords: Technology

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22 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

Open Source Software: The $9 Trillion Resource Companies Take for Granted

What does it take to put a price tag on open source software (OSS), a resource so critical to the global economy that some 96 percent of commercial programs include some code created, tinkered with, or... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Computer; Information Technology; Technology

02 Mar 2022
News

Harvard Census Identifies Most Commonly Used Open Source Packages

23 Apr 2016
News

Tipping His Cap to Open Source

model isn’t about gouging IP but adding value around it,” Whitehurst told The Business Times of Singapore. “It seemed [in 2008] like being a great way to be part of painting a new canvas.” Whitehurst sees big shifts in the business landscape over the coming years, as... View Details