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- All HBS Web
(3,033)
- People (12)
- News (959)
- Research (1,286)
- Events (8)
- Multimedia (7)
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- 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
Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Patents; Information Technology; Business Model; Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry
Nagle, Frank. "Free and Open Source Software and Hardware." Harvard Business School Technical Note 724-380, September 2023.
- June 2025
- Technical Note
Open Source Software and Hardware Business Models
By: Frank Nagle and Richie Zitomer
Open source software (OSS) and open source hardware (OSH) have evolved from community-driven projects into mainstream phenomena with diverse commercial business models. In OSS, the source code is freely available for use, modification, and redistribution under open... View Details
Nagle, Frank, and Richie Zitomer. "Open Source Software and Hardware Business Models." Harvard Business School Technical Note 725-489, September 2025.
- 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
- 05 Sep 2018
- Research & Ideas
The Hidden Benefit of Giving Back to Open Source Software
anyone. As part of the open source ethos, it is expected that people or companies who use open source code will “give back” to the View Details
- 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
- June 2025
- Teaching Note
AI at QuantumBlack: McKinsey's Open Source Dilemma
By: Frank Nagle, Sam Boysel and Susan Pinckney
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 725-433. The case describes the history of QuantumBlack. In 2015, McKinsey acquired data analytics company QuantumBlack. QuantumBlack produced Kedro, a ML data pipeline tool that helped McKinsey’s customers manage their data in an... View Details
Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Change Management; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Financial Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Platforms; Technological Innovation; Copyright; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Timing; Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Analytics and Data Science; Applications and Software; Open Source Distribution; Computer Industry; Consulting Industry
- 02 Mar 2011
- Research & Ideas
Managing the Open Source vs. Proprietary Decision
Editor's note: In their new book, The Comingled Code: Open Source and Economic Development, HBS professor Josh Lerner and London School of Economics professor Mark Schankerman look at the impact of 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
Lerner, Josh, and Mark Schankerman. The Comingled Code: Open Source and Economic Development. MIT Press, 2010.
- 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
Nagle, Frank. "Open Source Software and Firm Productivity." Management Science 65, no. 3 (March 2019): 1191–1215.
- 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
Wright, Nataliya Langburd, Frank Nagle, and Shane Greenstein. "Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship." Art. 104846. Research Policy 52, no. 9 (November 2023).
- 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
Gortmaker, Jeff. "Open Source Software Policy in Industry Equilibrium." Working Paper, October 2024.
- Article
The Scope of Open Source Licensing
By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole
Keywords: Technology
Lerner, Josh, and Jean Tirole. "The Scope of Open Source Licensing." Journal of Law, Economics & Organization 21, no. 1 (April 2005): 20–56. (Earlier version distributed as National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 9363.)
- 15 Dec 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
The Business of Free Software: Enterprise Incentives, Investment, and Motivation in the Open Source Community
- 17 Jun 2008
- Keynote Speech
Self-Organization in Open Source Development: Discussion
- June 2002
- Article
Some Simple Economics of Open Source
By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole
Keywords: Economics
Lerner, Josh, and Jean Tirole. "Some Simple Economics of Open Source." Journal of Industrial Economics 50, no. 2 (June 2002): 197–234. (Earlier versions distributed as HBS Working Paper No. 00-068 and NBER Working Paper No. 7600.)
- 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
Llanes, Gaston, and Ramiro de Elejalde. "Industry Equilibrium with Open Source and Proprietary Firms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 09-149, June 2009.
- 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
- 5 Nov 2013
- Conference Presentation
The Principles Behind Open Source Business Models
- 2019
- Working Paper
The Impact of Professionals' Contributions to Online Knowledge Communities on Their Workplace Knowledge Work
By: Hila Lifshitz - Assaf and Frank Nagle
Knowledge work is becoming increasingly challenging as pace of change in the knowledge frontier is increasing. Organizations have created multiple mechanisms to minimize knowledge gaps and increase learning such internal training, mentorship programs as well as... View Details
Keywords: Open Source; Future Of Work; Software Development; Knowledge Work; Online Community; Learning; Knowledge Sharing; Applications and Software; Open Source Distribution; Performance Productivity
Lifshitz - Assaf, Hila, and Frank Nagle. "The Impact of Professionals' Contributions to Online Knowledge Communities on Their Workplace Knowledge Work." Working Paper, April 2019.
- 2006
- Working Paper
The Business of Free Software: Enterprise Incentives, Investment, and Motivation in the Open Source Community
By: Marco Iansiti and Gregory L. Richards
Iansiti, Marco, and Gregory L. Richards. "The Business of Free Software: Enterprise Incentives, Investment, and Motivation in the Open Source Community." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 07-028, November 2006.