Why Is Open Source Software Viable? -A Study of Intrinsic Motivation, Personal Needs, and Future Returns

摘要

Traditional business models for software developmentrnare currently being challenged by the phenomenon ofrnopen source software where communities of programmersrnleverage the Internet to develop free software withoutrnreceiving any direct compensation. To understand thernsuccess and the prospects of open source software it isrnnecessary to examine the motivation of the participants inrnopen source projects. This paper presents a theoreticalrnmodel to study the three main factors leading tornparticipation in open source projects: intrinsic motivation,rnpersonal need and expectation of future returns.rnImplications of the model are derived and theirrnsignificance discussed. We conclude that open sourcernsoftware will be an enduring alternative to traditionalrnsoftware development and that it is possible to combinernaspects of both development approaches.