Community interaction : Impact on innovation and open-source business models
Christina Grundström, Thomas Rosenfall, Christina Öberg · 2012
Since open-source software (OSS) companies are heavily dependent on their developer communities for innovation and OSS business models are little researched, this paper takes an explorative approach to how OSS companies' business models in relation to community interaction and innovation can be characterized. By performing a cross-case analysis of four OSS companies representing different countries and company sizes and their community interaction, two distinctive OSS business models in relation to innovation were established. Community immersion means that the company subsumes into (often only) one OSS project (and community). By creating a commercial product, the company gets funds to support the community in various ways, initiating a positive spiral. This configuration seems more common early on in an OSS company’s development. Community utilization means that the company benefits directly from the OSS commitment, gaining e.g. brand recognition. By adding paid developers into the community, the project is sponsored and enhanced.