Institutions, culture, and open source

Sebastian v. Engelhardt and Andreas Freytag ()

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2013, vol. 95, issue C, 90-110

Abstract: We analyze the impact of institutional and cultural factors on the supply side of open source software (OSS). OSS is a privately provided public good: it is marked by free access to the software and its source code, and is developed in a public, collaborative manner by thousands of volunteers as well as profit-seeking firms. Our cross-country study shows that a culture characterized by interpersonal trust and self-determination/fulfillment values has a positive impact on OSS activities and the number of developers. The supply side of OSS also benefits from the enforcement of intellectual property rights. A low degree of regulation and openness towards scientific progress has a positive impact on the number of OSS developers, but the latter not on the number of active or core developers.

Keywords: Open source software; Institutions; Culture; Social capital; Individualism; Intellectual property rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B52 L17 L86 O34 Z13 Z19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Working Paper: Institutions, Culture, and Open Source (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:95:y:2013:i:c:p:90-110

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2013.08.012

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