Open Source and Software Development Innovation
It is beyond question how ubiquitous and powerful computing has become for commerce, communication, and culture. As the articles addressed in this chapter make clear, the development of software poses challenges to those with commercial concerns?those that build software and those that use it?as well as specific situations in which management and innovation theory is responsive also to nonproprietary software development. We begin with two articles by Boehm, arguably the most prominent voice in software engineering today. The first, with Ross (1989), introduces advances in theory to aid software project management, and the second (1991) takes a close look at risk management as it pertains to software development projects. Fichman and Kemerer (1997) present their research findings related to knowledge management in software process innovation management environments, while Nambisan and Wilemon (2000) explain the mutually advantageous bodies of knowledge that the realms of software development and new product development hold for one another. Fajar and Sproull (2000) consider software development management from a knowledge and team management perspective, and their findings have affinities with Farris et al.’s (2003) introduction of the Web of Innovation, which facilitates an organization’s e-knowledge management systems and their application to new product development.