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Motivation and Sorting in Open Source Software Innovation

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Author Info
Sharon Belenzon
Mark Schankerman
Abstract

This paper studies the role of intrinsic motivation, reputation and reciprocity in driving opensource software innovation. We exploit the observed pattern of contributions - the 'revealedpreference' of developers - to infer the underlying incentives. Using detailed information oncode contributions and project membership, we classify developers into distinct groups andstudy how contributions from each developer type vary by license (contract) type and otherproject characteristics. The central empirical finding is that developers strongly sort bylicense type, project size and corporate sponsorship. This evidence confirms the importanceof heterogeneous motivations, specifically a key role for motivated agents and reputation, butless for reciprocity.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Centre for Economic Performance, LSE in its series CEP Discussion Papers with number dp0893.

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Date of creation: Oct 2008
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Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0893

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Related research
Keywords: open source software; innovation; incentives; intrinsic motivation; motivatedagents; reputation; reciprocity;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
L17 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Open Source Products and Markets
L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
O31 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
O32 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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This page was last updated on 2010-1-5.

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