Open Source Software Survey

This website has been written as a launch pad to stimulate interest in participation in the Open Source Software Survey.  The introduction below was originally written in 2009 as part of a proposal for doctoral research.

Barriers & Drivers to Open Source Software Adoption in Organisations from the User’s Perspective

Background and Aim:

Open Source Software (OSS) is a form of distributed innovation (Kogut and Metiu, 2001) primarily in the field of information systems (IS). As a result of this innovation potentially millions of developers can contribute to the design, coding and refinement of computer software using existing intellectual property laws to assert the right to do so. OSS development principles have also been described as being in the tradition of academic discourse (Kogut and Metiu, 2001). The number of academic journal articles written about OSS from various disciplines has grown consistently from mid-1990s to around 1200 per year by 2008 (ISI Web of Knowledge 2009). As OSS awareness has grown, organisations are also considering OSS as an important innovation to adopt. In industry, managers report a 54% intention to adopt OSS technologies (Sen, 2007). Despite this, the actual adoption of OSS applications remains surprisingly low (Goode, 2005) and (Computer Economics Report 2008). OSS has been credited with the potential to harness the creative intelligence of millions, neutralising allegedly overbearing intellectual property laws and even the promise of offering economic parity with the developing countries (Kogut and Metiu, 2001). In view of such forecasts from industry and outstanding academic acclaim, what is responsible for this lack of adoption? The academic and commercial benefits of this research are best captured by the assertion that employee’s under-utilisation of IS fundamentally undermines the considerable resources expended in IS deployments (Venkatesh et al., 2008). This type of conclusion has led to the development of a range of IS adoption theories (Venkatesh et al., 2003), which will be adapted and applied to the adoption of OSS applications in this research. An appropriate group of developers and managers will be selected as users. For the purposes of this research a ‘user’ is defined as, “The subject [developer or development manager] using [making use of, or potential use of] the IS [the OSS applications].”(Burton-Jones and Gallivan, 2007). Developers and Development Managers {later extended to all managers responsible for software selection} will be selected: firstly because it will not be necessary to define OSS within the questionnaire or interview and secondly, as developers, this group are expected to provide a rich and informed perspective on the barriers to adoption.

The aim of this research is to investigate the barriers to adoption of OSS applications, from the perspective of users by utilising predominant adoption and usage theories (Venkatesh et al., 2003).

Research Methods:

The published research referred to above has shown concepts of adoption and usage empirically modelled and analysed via literature grounded constructs and surveys (Venkatesh et al., 2003). Adapting these models specifically toward OSS adoption (rather than generic IS adoption) will produce an intentionally nomothetic (formal mathematic) and arguably objective dimension to the analysis. In addition, open ended and closed qualitative questions will also be designed to obtain a subjective understanding of the depth and feeling of the issues surrounding OSS adoption. Answers to these questions will be sought via questionnaire and interview.

References:

(Computer Economics Report 2008) Open Source Business Applications Deliver Strong ROI Despite Low Adoption. (cover story). Computer Economics Report, 30, 1-11.
(ISI Web of Knowledge 2009) "Open Source" query in "Topic" field. Thomson Reuters, http://www.isiwebofknowledge.com/ (Downloaded Jan 2009).
BURTON-JONES, A. & GALLIVAN, M. J. (2007) TOWARD A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SYSTEM USAGE IN ORGANIZATIONS: A MULTILEVEL PERSPECTIVE. Mis Quarterly, 31, 657-679.
GOODE, S. (2005) Something for nothing: management rejection of open source software in Australia's top firms. Information & Management, 42, 669-681.
KOGUT, B. & METIU, A. (2001) Open-source software development and distributed innovation. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 17, 248-264.
SEN, R. (2007) A strategic analysis of competition between open source and proprietary software. Journal of Management Information Systems, 24, 233-257.
VENKATESH, V., BROWN, S. A., MARUPING, L. M. & BALA, H. (2008) Predicting different conceptualizations of system use: The competing roles of behavioral intention, facilitating conditions, and behavioral expectation. Mis Quarterly, 32, 483-502.
VENKATESH, V., MORRIS, M. G., DAVIS, G. B. & DAVIS, F. D. (2003) USER ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: TOWARD A UNIFIED VIEW. Mis Quarterly, 27, 425-478.