Success of Open Source in Developing Countries

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Amrollahi ◽  
Mohammad Khansari ◽  
Amir Manian

Open Source approach has been recognized as one of the best methods for software development in developing countries. Previous research however underemphasized different aspects of Open Source Software (OSS) success in context of developing countries compared to western context. In this research the authors use exploratory mixed methodology to study measures of and factors affecting OSS success with emphasize on the social and cultural context of Iran. In the qualitative section of the research 13 interviews with experts of the field have been conducted and the result is reflected in the research model. In the quantitative section, five research hypotheses have been evaluated by using data of 109 Iranian projects from sourceforge.net repository. The results indicate that the license type and use of project management tools may affect the success of OSS. The authors finally conclude that OSS research especially in the field of OSS success may lead to different findings in different contexts.

2015 ◽  
pp. 1126-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Amrollahi ◽  
Mohammad Khansari ◽  
Amir Manian

Open Source approach has been recognized as one of the best methods for software development in developing countries. Previous research however underemphasized different aspects of Open Source Software (OSS) success in context of developing countries compared to western context. In this research the authors use exploratory mixed methodology to study measures of and factors affecting OSS success with emphasize on the social and cultural context of Iran. In the qualitative section of the research 13 interviews with experts of the field have been conducted and the result is reflected in the research model. In the quantitative section, five research hypotheses have been evaluated by using data of 109 Iranian projects from sourceforge.net repository. The results indicate that the license type and use of project management tools may affect the success of OSS. The authors finally conclude that OSS research especially in the field of OSS success may lead to different findings in different contexts.


Author(s):  
Alfreda Dudley-Sponaugle

Computing practices in developing countries can be complex. At the same time, open source software OSS) impacts developing countries in various ways. This chapter examines the social and economic impacts of OSS on three such nations: China, South Korea, and India. In so doing, the chapter discusses and analyzes benefi ts as well as downsides of the social, political, and fi nancial impacts on these developing countries. Topics covered in this chapter are piracy, software licensing, software initiatives, and political components involved in OSS implementation, and software compatibility issues.


2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chorng-Guang Wu ◽  
James H. Gerlach ◽  
Clifford E. Young

This study differs from previous studies on open source software (OSS) developer motivation by drawing upon theories of volunteerism and work motivation to investigate the motives and attitudes of OSS volunteer developers. The role of commitment is specifically interesting, which is well established in the volunteerism and work motivation literature as a predictor of turnover and positively related to work performance, but has been overlooked by OSS researchers. The authors have developed a research model relating motivations, commitment, satisfaction, and length of service to intention to contribute to OSS projects in the future. The research model is evaluated using data from an online survey of 181 OSS volunteer developers. The research results and more discussion of these areas of interest will be evaluated and discussed further in the article.


Author(s):  
Chorng-Guang Wu ◽  
James H. Gerlach ◽  
Clifford E. Young

This study differs from previous studies on open source software (OSS) developer motivation by drawing upon theories of volunteerism and work motivation to investigate the motives and attitudes of OSS volunteer developers. The role of commitment is specifically interesting, which is well established in the volunteerism and work motivation literature as a predictor of turnover and positively related to work performance, but has been overlooked by OSS researchers. The authors have developed a research model relating motivations, commitment, satisfaction, and length of service to intention to contribute to OSS projects in the future. The research model is evaluated using data from an online survey of 181 OSS volunteer developers. The research results and more discussion of these areas of interest will be evaluated and discussed further in the chapter.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Nafus

While open source software development promises a fairer, more democratic model of software production often compared to a gift economy, it also is far more male dominated than other forms of software production. The specific ways F/LOSS instantiates notions of openness in everyday practice exacerbates the exclusion of women. ‘Openness’ is a complex construct that affects more than intellectual property arrangements. It weaves together ideas about authorship, agency, and the circumstances under which knowledge and code can and cannot be exchanged. While open source developers believe technology is orthogonal to the social, notions of openness tie the social to the technical by separating persons from one another and relieving them of obligations that might be created in the course of other forms of gift exchange. In doing so, men monopolize code authorship and simultaneously de-legitimize the kinds of social ties necessary to build mechanisms for women’s inclusion.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chintan Amrit ◽  
Jos van Hillegersberg

In this paper we apply the social network concept of core-periphery structure to the socio-technical structure of a software development team. We propose a socio-technical pattern that can be used to locate emerging coordination problems in Open Source projects. With the help of our tool and method called TESNA, we demonstrate a method to monitor the socio-technical core-periphery movement in Open Source projects. We then study the impact of different core-periphery movements on Open Source projects. We conclude that a steady core-periphery shift towards the core is beneficial to the project, whereas shifts away from the core are clearly not good. Furthermore, oscillatory shifts towards and away from the core can be considered as an Indication of the instability of the project. Such an analysis can provide developers with a good Insight into the health of an Open Source project. Researchers can gain from the pattern theory, and from the method we use to study the core-periphery movements.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-92
Author(s):  
Feras Hanandeh ◽  
Majdi Y. Al-Shannag ◽  
Maha Mahdi Alkhaffaf

This research paper studies the different factors that could affect the Faculty of Information Technology students' accumulative averages at Jordanian Universities, by verifying the students' information, background and academic records. It also has the objective to reveal how this information will affect the students to obtain high grades in their courses. The information of the students is extracted from the students' records and its attributes are formulated as a huge database. Then, a free open source software (WEKA) which supports data mining tools and techniques are used to decide which attribute(s) will affect the students' accumulative averages. It was found that the most important factor affects the students' accumulative averages, is the student acceptance type. A decision tree model and rules are also built to determine how the students can get high grades in their courses. The overall accuracy of the model was 46.8% which is an accepted rate.


Author(s):  
Delroy Chevers ◽  
Annette M. Mills ◽  
Evan Duggan ◽  
Stanford Moore

For software development firms to be competitive they must assure the quality of the software product. This has led many firms to adopt software process improvement (SPI) programs such as the capability maturity model integration (CMMI). However, for small software firms, especially those in developing countries with limited resources, these programs are often too cumbersome and costly to implement. To address this issue, this paper proposes a simplified SPI model for small firms (SPM-S) comprised of 10 key software development practices; with fewer practices, the proposed model should be more accessible and less costly to implement. Using data collected in four developing countries in the English-speaking Caribbean from 112 developer/user dyads, the model is evaluated with respect to its impact on software quality. The findings show that the software development process coupled with supporting technology (e.g. project management tools) significantly impact software product quality. Implications for software process improvement in small firms and future research are discussed.


Author(s):  
Delroy Chevers ◽  
Annette M. Mills ◽  
Evan Duggan ◽  
Stanford Moore

Managing software quality is a major challenge for software development firms. This has led many firms to adopt software process improvement programs such as the capability maturity model integration to improve the software development process. However, these models are often too cumbersome and costly, especially for small software firms in developing countries, to implement. This chapter proposes a simplified software process improvement model that prioritises key practices for software development, given the constraints that face small firms. Using data collected in four developing countries in the English-speaking Caribbean from 112 developer/user dyads on their software practices, the results show that software process coupled with supporting technology (e.g., project management tools) significantly impact the quality of the software product. Smaller projects (represented by size of the project team) are also associated with high quality software products than larger projects. Implications for SPI programs in small firms and future research is discussed.


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