Comparing the relative importance of evaluation criteria in proprietary and open‐source enterprise application software selection – a conjoint study of ERP and Office systems

Until recently, organizations willing to acquire application systems have had no choice but to adopt proprietary software. With the advent of open‐source software (OSS), a new model for developing and distributing software has entered the stage. OSS has evolved from a generally horizontal infrastructure towards more highly visible applications in vertical domains, giving information systems (IS) managers more degrees of freedom in their selection of enterprise application software (EAS). Although a large body of research exists on the relative importance of evaluation criteria for proprietary EAS, the role of OSS in the EAS evaluation process has received little attention so far. To address this research gap, this study represents the first empirical investigation to compare the relative importance of evaluation criteria in proprietary and open‐source EAS selection. Through an online survey, we evaluated the responses of IS managers of 358 organizations to a conjoint study spawning 8592 trade‐off pair comparisons and 3580 purchase evaluations on proprietary and open‐source enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Office software packages. The results show that the relative importance of evaluation criteria significantly varies between proprietary and open‐source ERP systems. Implementation factors such as ease of implementation and support are much more crucial in the evaluation of open‐source than of proprietary ERP systems, which is generally due to IS managers' risk mitigation behaviour. Interestingly, there are no major differences in the ranking of evaluation criteria between proprietary and open‐source Office systems. We conclude our paper with a detailed discussion of our findings and their implications for researchers, companies, EAS vendors and open‐source communities.     

Antecedents of open source software defects: A data mining approach to model formulation, validation and testing

This paper develops tests and validates a model for the antecedents of open source software (OSS) defects, using Data and Text Mining. The public archives of OSS projects are used to access historical data on over 5,000 active and mature OSS projects. Using domain knowledge and exploratory analysis, a wide range of variables is identified from the process, product, resource, and end-user characteristics of a project to ensure that the model is robust and considers all aspects of the system. Multiple Data Mining techniques are used to refine the model and data is enriched by the use of Text Mining for knowledge discovery from qualitative information. The study demonstrates the suitability of Data Mining and Text Mining for model building. Results indicate that project type, end-user activity, process quality, team size and project popularity have a significant impact on the defect density of operational OSS projects. Since many organizations, both for profit and not for profit, are beginning to use Open Source Software as an economic alternative to commercial software, these results can be used in the process of deciding what software can be reasonably maintained by an organization.     

A strategic analysis for successful open source software utilization based on a structural equation model

Commercial software companies face many challenges when competing in today’s fast moving and competitive industry environment. Recently, the use of open source software (OSS) has been proposed as a possible way to address those challenges. OSS provides many benefits, including high-quality software and substantial profits. Nevertheless, OSS has not been effectively utilized in real business. The purpose of this paper is to find what affects the utilization of OSS. For this study, we propose a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the relationships between the quality factors based on ISO/IEC 9126 and OSS utilization. In addition, we suggest an open source software utilization index (OSSUI) based on the proposed SEM. The results provide us with the controllable feedback information to improve user (programmer) satisfaction during OSS utilization.     

Code quality analysis in open source software development

Abstract Proponents of open source style software development claim that better software is produced using this model compared with the traditional closed model. However, there is little empirical evidence in support of these claims. In this paper, we present the results of a pilot case study aiming: (a) to understand the implications of structural quality; and (b) to figure out the benefits of structural quality analysis of the code delivered by open source style development. To this end, we have measured quality characteristics of 100 applications written for Linux, using a software measurement tool, and compared the results with the industrial standard that is proposed by the tool. Another target of this case study was to investigate the issue of modularity in open source as this characteristic is being considered crucial by the proponents of open source for this type of software development. We have empirically assessed the relationship between the size of the application components and the delivered quality measured through user satisfaction. We have determined that, up to a certain extent, the average component size of an application is negatively related to the user satisfaction for this application.     

A framework for creating hybrid-open source software communities

Abstract The open source software (OSS) model is a fundamentally new and revolutionary way to develop software. The success of the OSS model is also setting the stage for a structural change in the software industry; it is beginning to transform software industry from manufacturing to a service industry. Despite the success of the OSS model, for‐profit organizations are having difficulty building a business model around the open source paradigm. Whereas there are some isolated empirical studies, little rigorous research has been done on how traditional organizations can implement and benefit from OSS practices. This research explores how organizations can foster an environment similar to OSS to manage their software development efforts to reap its numerous advantages. Drawing on organizational theory, we develop a framework that guides the creation and management of a hybrid‐OSS community within an organization. We discuss the implications of this framework and suggest areas for future research.     

User acceptance model of open source software

The development and implementation of open source software (OSS) is one of the most current topics within the academic, business and political environments. Traditionally, research in OSS has focused on identifying individual personal motives for participating in the development of an OSS project, analyzing specific OSS solutions, or the OSS movement, itself. Nevertheless, user acceptance towards this type of technology has received very little attention. For this reason, the main purpose of the current study is to identify the variables and factors that have a direct effect on individual attitude towards OSS adoption. Therefore, we have developed a technological acceptance model on behalf of the users towards a solution based on OSS. For this development, we have considered the technology acceptance model. Findings show that OSS is a viable solution for information management for organizations.     

Beyond free software: An exploration of the business value of strategic open source

The phenomenon of open source software (OSS) has been well studied from the software development perspective, but it has received much less attention from the perspective of business value. Nevertheless, OSS, when viewed as a value creation process rather than ‘free’ software, provides businesses with value through access to knowledge and innovation capacity resident in online communities. This conceptualisation, which we label ‘strategic open source’ requires firms to rethink their strategy and processes as there is a shift in focus from ownership to openness and collaboration with external parties. Nonetheless, the emergence of OSS poses a puzzle for conceptions of organisational theory. Therefore, a theorising process is needed in order to develop a deeper understanding of how value is created and captured with OSS. Using a field study of eleven European firms, this paper explores the creation and capture of business value from strategic open source. The findings reveal that while decision makers look to open innovation initiatives like OSS for value creation and capture, there is still a desire to remain self reliant, resulting in collaborative design (of external innovations) rather than collaborative decision making with value network partners in relation to how such innovations would help create and capture value within firms.     

Users’ perception of open source usability: an empirical study

The number of open source software (OSS) users has increased in recent years. No longer are they limited to technically adept software developers. Many believe that the OSS market share could increase tremendously provided OSS had systems that were easier to use. Although examples of good usable open source software exist, it is agreed that OSS can be made more usable. This study presents an empirical investigation into the impact of some key factors on OSS usability from the end users’ point of view. The research model studies and establishes the relationship between the key usability factors from the users’ perspective and OSS usability. A data set of 102 OSS users from 13 open source projects of various sizes was used to study the research model. The results of this study provide empirical evidence by indicating that the highlighted key factors play a significant role in improving OSS usability.     

Using open source software in product development: a primer

There are important legal aspects involved in using open source software in commercial products. Here are answers to common questions on how to handle these issues to mitigate risk. The use of open source software in industrial products is growing rapidly because its many advantages are well known. However although we in industry understand liability and intellectual-property-right risks fairly well, the implication of OSS-related legal and managerial issues are new to many of us. Legal aspects can vary greatly from one piece of OSS to another depending on the license scheme used. We discuss the major legal aspects and risks in using OSS and how to mitigate them in product development. We've ordered the information in a top-down approach, starting with a definition of OSS, its benefits, and then some risks and experiences with managing it in software engineering practice.     

On the challenges of open-sourcing proprietary software projects

The open source software (OSS) movement has become widely recognized as an effective way to deliver software. Even big software companies, well-known for being restrictive when it comes to publishing their source code artifacts, have recently adopted open source initiatives and released for general use the source code of some of their most notable products. We conducted an exploratory study on merits of the widespread belief that open-sourcing a proprietary software project will attract external developers, like casual contributors, and therefore improve software quality (e.g., “given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”). By examining the pre- and post-migration software history of eight active, popular, non-trivial proprietary projects that became open source, we characterize the phenomenon and identify some challenges. Contrary to what many believe, we found that only a few projects experienced a growth in newcomers, contributions, and popularity; furthermore, this growth does not last long. The results from the study can be useful for helping software companies to better understand the hidden challenges of open-sourcing their software projects to attract external developers.     

Gamification: A framework for designing software in e-banking

The gamification software development gave emphasis to the role played by the users to test and improve the software. This study presents a framework for software gamified in e-banking, taking a users' groups and a qualitative research approach, to check the users' design preferences in five cases of banking software gamified (Futebank, Dreams, Galaxy, Olympics, and Warrants). After software presentation, and usage experience, 53 participants, responses to a survey with six open questions. The data were analyzed through a text semantic software, to detect and classify lexical items in, accordance, with standard of software quality characteristics and user experiences. Two primary categories were identified, as well five dimensions in each element and characteristic categories. The results show five characteristic dimensions (design, appearance, functionality, rules, and objectives) and five element dimension (game, product, security, process, and information). These findings provide a framework for web designers and e-business, highlighting the most important software features when dealing with serious applications with game design. It adds value to the current literature on understanding the customer relationship with the game and the financial product, identifying new dimensions (game and product) on the approach of thinking and design gamification in e-banking. Our finding contributes to a better understanding of key elements and characteristics in e-banking software design and has important practical implications for software development and marketing practices. Thoughts on the users' software design preferences identified, should propel increase adoption and attractiveness of online banking.     

Volunteers’ involvement in online community based software development

We sought to gain understanding of voluntary developers’ involvement in open source software (OSS) projects. Data were collected from voluntary developers working on open source projects. Our findings indicated that a voluntary developer's involvement was very important to his or her performance and that involvement was dependent on individual motivations (personal software needs, reputation and skills gaining expectation, enjoyment in open source coding) and project community factors (leadership effectiveness, interpersonal relationship, community ideology). Our work contributes theoretically and empirically to the body of OSS research and has practical implications for OSS project management.     

Has open source software been institutionalized in organizations or not?

ContextAlmost a decade ago, researchers in information systems and analysts of the information technology (IT) industry were predicting a bright future for open source software (OSS). Recent examples appear to lend support to this, but there exist many detractors of OSS and resistance to the transformation it creates. Thus, it is relevant to take a closer look at the institutionalization of OSS.ObjectiveThis paper evaluates the extent of OSS institutionalization in organizations. A practice or innovation is said to be institutionalized when it is taken-for-granted and its use becomes the norm.MethodDrawing on institutional theory, the underlying concept of organizing vision and the rhetorical theory of diffusion of innovations, we analyze OSS institutionalization through the observation of the evolution of the public discourse about OSS and, simultaneously, the observation of the rate of adoption or diffusion of OSS in organizations.ResultsOSS has become institutionalized for many back-end applications and is gradually becoming institutionalized for some front-end applications, mainly in small and medium enterprises but also in organizations in the financial, publishing, education, government and public sectors. Using the rhetorical theory of diffusion of innovations in tandem with the concept of organizing vision, we provide a deep understanding of the institutionalization of OSS by showing that it has not only diffused among organizations, but is also taken-for-granted in thought and social action. The positive tone and prominence of the public discourse on OSS have an important role to play in its institutionalization.ConclusionThe institutionalization of OSS in organizations cannot be underestimated by IT and business executives as well as key players in the IT industry. Future research efforts should be pursued and directed toward the institutionalization of particular OSS applications in a variety of industries and geographic regions.     

Open source software success: Measures and analysis

Despite a growing body of research on OSS production, much remains to be learned. One important issue concerns the measures of OSS project success and its determinants. In this paper, we empirically study the determinants of OSS success as measured by the number of subscribers and developers working on an OSS project. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our model forecasts these success measures more accurately as compared to a naive model.We find that OSS projects that develop software to work on Windows/UNIX/Linux operating systems, and developed using C or its derivative languages experience larger increase in subscribers and attract more developers than projects that do not have these characteristics. OSS projects with semi-restrictive licenses have fewer subscribers and attract fewer developers. Interestingly, OSS projects that accept financial donations and are targeted at IS/IT professionals have more subscribers than others, although these characteristics do not affect the developer base. The number of subscribers and developers increases with the age of the OSS project. Finally, the impact of developers on subscribers and subscribers on developers is positive and significant.     

开源软件自动化评估证据框架

互联网上已形成了规模巨大、种类丰富的开源软件资源。如何准确、快速地判断一个开源项目的各种可信属性是否满足需求是当前软件工程领域研究的热点。深入分析已有开源软件评估模型,总结互联网上软件质量相关的各种信息,提出了面向开源软件的可信评估证据框架,并基于该框架构建了一种开源软件可信证据查询平台。利用该平台能够极大地提高评估效率,用户可以准确、快速、全面地了解相关软件项目的各种信息。最后,以一个知名开源软件证实了该证据框架及证据查询平台的可行性。     

Striking a balance between trust and control in a virtual organization: a content analysis of open source software case studies

Abstract. Many organization theorists have predicted the emergence of the networked or virtual firm as a model for the design of future organizations. Researchers have also emphasized the importance of trust as a necessary condition for ensuring the success of virtual organizations. This paper examines the open source software (OSS) 'movement' as an example of a virtual organization and proposes a model that runs contrary to the belief that trust is critical for virtual organizations. Instead, I argue that various control mechanisms can ensure the effective performance of autonomous agents who participate in virtual organizations. Borrowing from the theory of the 'McDonaldization' of society, I argue that, given a set of practices to ensure the control, efficiency, predictability and calculability of processes and outcomes in virtual organizations, effective performance may occur in the absence of trust. As support for my argument, I employ content analysis to examine a set of published case studies of OSS projects. My results show that, although that trust is rarely mentioned, ensuring control is an important criterion for effective performance within OSS projects. The case studies feature few references to other dimensions of McDonaldization (efficiency, predictability and calculability), however, and I conclude that the OSS movement relies on many other forms of social control and self-control, which are often unacknowledged in OSS projects. Through these implicit forms of control, OSS projects are able to secure the cooperation of the autonomous agents that participate in project teams. I conclude by extrapolating from these case studies to other virtual organizations.     

Empirical validation of object-oriented metrics on open source software for fault prediction

Open source software systems are becoming increasingly important these days. Many companies are investing in open source projects and lots of them are also using such software in their own work. But, because open source software is often developed with a different management style than the industrial ones, the quality and reliability of the code needs to be studied. Hence, the characteristics of the source code of these projects need to be measured to obtain more information about it. This paper describes how we calculated the object-oriented metrics given by Chidamber and Kemerer to illustrate how fault-proneness detection of the source code of the open source Web and e-mail suite called Mozilla can be carried out. We checked the values obtained against the number of bugs found in its bug database - called Bugzilla - using regression and machine learning methods to validate the usefulness of these metrics for fault-proneness prediction. We also compared the metrics of several versions of Mozilla to see how the predicted fault-proneness of the software system changed during its development cycle.     

Understanding OSS development in communities: the perspectives of ideology and knowledge sharing

This study aims to understand why open source software (OSS) developers contribute and how their dispersed efforts are controlled to lead to viable outputs. Drawing on theories related to ideology and information sharing, a model is proposed and tested empirically. We found that OSS values are positively associated with collaborative elaboration and communication competence, which in turn affect the performance of OSS task in terms of task completion. Our results also delineate the relationship among OSS norms, collaborative elaboration and source credibility, and task completion. This research contributes to advancing theoretical understanding of OSS performance as well as providing OSS practitioners with guidelines on how OSS communities use OSS ideology to achieve better performance.     

A critical look at open source

In recent years, open source software - more properly, free and open source software - has emerged as one popular solution to the so-called "software crisis". Advocates regard F/OSS as an agile, practice-led initiative that addresses three key issues namely cost, time scale and quality. F/OSS products are usually freely available for public download. The collaborative, parallel efforts of globally distributed developers allow many F/OSS products to be developed much more quickly than conventional software. Many F/OSS offerings are recognized for their high standards of reliability, efficiency, and robustness; products such as GNU/Linux, Apache, and Bind have become "category killers" stifling the incentive to develop any competing products.