Impacts of License Choice and Organizational Sponsorship on User Interest and Development Activity in Open Source Software Projects

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Citation: Katherine J. Stewart, Anthony P. Ammeter, Likoebe M. Maruping Impacts of License Choice and Organizational Sponsorship on User Interest and Development Activity in Open Source Software Projects.
DOI (original publisher): 10.1287/isre.1060.0082
Semantic Scholar (metadata): 10.1287/isre.1060.0082
Sci-Hub (fulltext): 10.1287/isre.1060.0082
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): Impacts of License Choice and Organizational Sponsorship on User Interest and Development Activity in Open Source Software Projects
Wikidata (metadata): Q64285359
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Summary

Contribute to literature on why some OSS projects succeed and others fail.

Using subscriber counts for 138 utility, software development, and game projects gathered from Freshmeat.net, main conclusions:

  1. license restrictiveness and organizational sponsorship interact to influence user perceptions of the likely utility of open source software in such a way that users are most attracted to projects that are sponsored by nonmarket organizations and that employ nonrestrictive licenses
  2. licensing and sponsorship address complementary developer motivations such that the influence of licensing on development activity depends on what kind of organizational sponsor a project has

Hypotheses:


  • Hypothesis 1A (H1A). OSS projects that use a nonrestrictive license will attract greater user interest over time than those that use a restrictive license. (Supported)
  • Hypothesis 1B (H1B). The effect of license restrictiveness on OSS project user interest over time will be stronger for projects that have a broader range of potential uses than for those that have a narrower range of potential uses. (Not Supported, not significant)
  • Hypothesis 2A (H2A). Projects with a sponsor will attract greater user interest over time than those without a sponsor (Supported)
  • Hypothesis 2B (H2B). The effects of sponsorship on OSS project user interest over time will be stronger for projects that have a broader range of potential uses than for those that have a narrower range of potential uses. (Partially Supported: yes for utility and software development but not for game projects)
  • Hypothesis 2C (H2C). Projects with a nonmarket sponsor will attract greater user interest over time than those with a market sponsor. (Supported)
  • Hypothesis 2D (H2D). Projects with a nonmarket sponsor and a nonrestrictive license will attract greater user interest over time than any other combination of license restrictiveness and sponsorship. (Supported)
  • Hypothesis 3 (H3). OSS projects using a restrictive license will attract greater development activity over time than those using a nonrestrictive license. (Not Supported, not significant)
  • Hypothesis 4A (H4A). OSS projects that have a nonmarket sponsor will attract greater development activity over time than those that do not have a sponsor. (Supported)
  • Hypothesis 4B (H4B). The positive effect of license restrictiveness on development activity will be reduced for nonmarket-sponsored projects versus market-sponsored or nonsponsored projects. (Supported, license restrictiveness negative for development activity in nonmarket-sponsored projects)
  • Hypothesis 5 (H5). OSS project user interest will have a positive effect on the amount of OSS project development activity over time. (Supported)

Theoretical and Practical Relevance

Does not seem to account for CLA or lack thereof.

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