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Do Open Source Developers Respond to Competition? The Case Study

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Author Info
Alex Gaudeul () (School of Economics, University of East Anglia)

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Abstract

This paper traces the history of , the open source typesetting program. was an early and very successful open source project that imposed its standards in a particularly competitive environment and inspired many advances in the typesetting industry. Developed over three decades, came into competition with a variety of open source and proprietary alternatives. I argue from this case study that open source developers derive direct and indirect network externalities from the use of their software by others and must therefore consider non-developers' needs to make their software more attractive to a broader audience and more competitive with proprietary alternatives.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Concept Economics in its journal Review of Network Economics.

Volume (Year): 6 (2007)
Issue (Month): 2 (June)
Pages: 239-263
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:rne:rneart:v:6:y:2007:i:2:p:239-263

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Web page: http://www.rnejournal.com

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Related research
Keywords: Open source; typesetting; network externalities.;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Alex Gaudeul, 2005. "Public provision of a private good: What is the point of the BSD license?," Industrial Organization 0511002, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  2. Franke, Nikolaus & Hippel, Eric von, 2003. "Satisfying heterogeneous user needs via innovation toolkits: the case of Apache security software," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1199-1215, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Nicholas Economides & Evangelos Katsamakas, 2005. "Two-sided competition of proprietary vs. open source technology platforms, and the implications for the software industry," Working Papers 05-02, NET Institute, revised Oct 2005. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Jürgen Bitzer & Philipp J.H. Schröder, 2005. "The Impact of Entry and Competition by Open Source Software on Innovation Activity," Industrial Organization 0512001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  5. Lerner, Josh & Tirole, Jean, 2002. "Some Simple Economics of Open," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(2), pages 197-234, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Hertel, Guido & Niedner, Sven & Herrmann, Stefanie, 2003. "Motivation of software developers in Open Source projects: an Internet-based survey of contributors to the Linux kernel," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1159-1177, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Alex Gaudeul, 2004. "The LaTeX project: A case study of open source software," Industrial Organization 0409010, EconWPA, revised 20 Apr 2005. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Bergstrom, Theodore & Blume, Lawrence & Varian, Hal, 1986. "On the private provision of public goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 25-49, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Alexandre Gaudeul, 2004. "Competition between open-source and proprietary software: the (La)TeX case study," Industrial Organization 0409007, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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