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Decoding the "Free/Open Source(F/OSS) Software Puzzle" a survey of theoretical and empirical contributions

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Author Info
Maria Alessandra Rossi ()
Abstract

F/OSS software has been described by many as a puzzle. In the past five years, it has stimulated the curiosity of scholars in a variety of fields, including economics, law, psychology, anthropology and computer science, so that the number of contributions on the subject has increased exponentially. The purpose of this paper is to provide a sufficiently comprehensive account of these contributions in order to draw some general conclusions on the state of our understanding of the phenomenon and identify directions for future research. The exercise suggests that what is puzzling about F/OSS is not so much the fact that people freely contribute to a good they make available to all, but rather the complexity of its institutional structure and its ability to organizationally evolve over time.

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Paper provided by Department of Economics, University of Siena in its series Department of Economics University of Siena with number 424.

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Date of creation: Apr 2004
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Handle: RePEc:usi:wpaper:424

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Related research
Keywords: F/OSS software; Innovation; Incentives; Governance; Intellectual Property Rights;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
O31 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
O34 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Intellectual Property Rights

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  1. Rufus Pollock, 2008. "Innovation, Imitation and Open Source," EERI Research Paper Series EERI_RP_2008_20, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI). [Downloadable!]
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