Technological diffusion,the diffusion of skill and the growth of outsourcing in US manufacturing

The development of knowledge requires investment, which may be made in terms of financial resources or time. Open source software (OSS) has challenged much of the traditional reasoning by suggesting that individuals behave altruistically and contribute to a public good, despite the opportunity to free-ride. The lion’s share of the existing literature on OSS examines communities, that is, those individuals whom are already part of the OSS community. In contrast, this paper starts from users with the requisite skill to use and develop OSS. This group of skilled individuals could potentially invest into the development of OSS knowledge, but they may or may not do so in actuality. This paper, therefore, explores three issues, which have not been extensively explored in the literature, namely, (1) how frequently a group of skilled people use OSS, (2) reasons for differences among users and non-users in terms of use and attitudes, and (3) how frequently, and why, some users contribute to OSS projects (and thereby become developers). In doing so, we consider the opportunity costs of use and development of OSS, which has been largely neglected in the literature. We find that the individuals have a rather pragmatic attitude to firms and that many are active in both firms and OSS community, which raises many questions for future research about the role and influence of firms on the development and diffusion of OSS.     

‘Hybrid’ open source software virtual communities of practice – a conceptual framework

‘Hybrid’ open source software communities are conducive to knowledge integration and innovation, and can be seen through a community of practice lens. In this paper, we develop an integrated process theory of structural attributes and social mechanisms of hybrid virtual communities. We offer a dynamic view of knowledge integration and innovation in such communities. We also emphasise the multi-faceted nature of virtual communities and identify factors that regulate participation and sustain such communities. This has implications for theorising about knowledge integration and innovation in hybrid virtual settings. Finally, virtual ethnography and multi-level research are suggested for future research.     

Managing knowledge sharing in distributed innovation from the perspective of developers: empirical study of open source software projects in China

Knowledge sharing is the key factor that influences the performance of open source software (OSS) projects, which are the representative cases of distributed innovation. This paper aims to explore the mechanism of knowledge sharing in OSS projects from the perspective of developers in China. A quantitative method with the analysis of 403 valid questionnaires is adopted. A series of hypotheses about how distributed innovation (independent variables) influences knowledge sharing (mediating variable) and then affects the performance of OSS projects (dependent variable) are tested and approved. On the one side, we argue that developers will actively affect knowledge sharing in terms of participative motivation, social network and organisational culture. On the other hand, users may also affect the knowledge sharing when considering innovation willingness and capacity. It is interesting to find that social network is the most important factor in Chinese cases. It is strongly recommended to strengthen the collaboration between software companies and OSS communities.     

Designing a forecasting analysis to understand the diffusion of open source software in the year 2010

Open source software (OSS) is being considered the new paradigm of software distribution. As contrasted with the traditional software marketing model, OSS pursues the freedom to have access to open source and offers several advantages to enterprises. These advantages include saving costs related to Information Systems and Technologies (IS/IT) and the possibility of adapting to changing organizational requirements. However, the recent forthcoming of OSS prevents us from knowing the real impact it has today on social and organizational fields. Having considered this obstacle, the authors have defined a foreseeable setting for OSS diffusion and adoption by means of a forecasting study based on the Delphi method for the year 2010. The findings reveal the levels of OSS diffusion for this year according to the main applications, geographic regions and industries. In a complementary manner, the authors have studied the elements of success as well as the most relevant obstacles for diffusing and adopting technological solutions based on OSS.     

分布式创新参与者动机对行为的影响机制:以开源社区为例

开源社区是分布式创新的典范,开源社区参与者知识创新动机与行为备受关注。以我国330名开源社区参与者为对象,运用结构方程模型研究了参与者动机对行为的影响机制。研究结果表明:学习动机、交流动机、兴趣动机和职业发展动机依次通过有用性感知和参与意向间接激发参与行为;动机对行为影响大小的排序为职业发展动机、兴趣动机、学习动机和交流动机。职业发展动机除间接影响参与行为外,还会直接增进学习动机和交流动机。比较研究模型和竞争模型的拟合结果可知,研究提出的"动机-行为过程"分析框架明显优于传统的"动机-行为"框架。     

社会资本与技术支持对学术虚拟社区知识共享的影响——基于科学网平台的知识共享要素分析

学术虚拟社区是广大学者和科研工作者进行知识交流与探讨的重要平台，也是学术碰撞和知识创新的新阵地。通过构建社会资本与技术支持对用户知识共享行为影响的理论模型，探讨社会资本（关系资本、结构资本、认知资本）和技术支持（感知有用性、感知易用性）对社区用户知识共享行为（知识共享质量和数量）的作用机理。结果表明，关系资本与结构资本分别对学术虚拟社区知识共享质量和数量具有显著正向影响，属于持续动力。伴随其它因素介入，认知资本对学术社区知识共享数量产生正向影响，技术支持对知识共享的影响具有显著差异，感知易用性对学术社区知识共享质量和数量均具有显著正向影响，而感知有用性对知识共享质量具有显著负向影响。基于此，提出社区管理者应采取措施拓展用户社会资本并加强平台技术支持，以实现学术虚拟社区可持续发展。     

Is there a wage premium for volunteer OSS engagement? – signalling,learning and noise

Volunteer-based open-source production has become a significant new model for the organization of software development. Economics often pictures this phenomenon as a case of signalling: individuals engage in the volunteer programming of open-source software (OSS) as a labour-market signal resulting in a wage premium. Yet, this explanation could so far not be empirically tested. This article fills this gap by estimating an upper-bound composite wage premium of voluntary OSS contributions and by separating the potential signalling effect of OSS engagement from other effects. Although some 70% of OSS contributors believe that OSS involvement benefits their careers, we find no actual labour-market premium for OSS engagement. The presence of other motives, such as fun of play or altruism, renders OSS contributions too noisy to function as a signal.     

治理机制对顾客参与价值共创行为的影响——虚拟品牌社区的实证研究

虚拟品牌社区是企业与顾客进行价值共创的重要平台,顾客参与价值共创行为对企业长远发展具有十分重要的作用。现有研究多是基于不同的理论从顾客视角出发探索顾客参与价值共创行为受到的心理动机和个人特征等因素的影响,鲜有从企业视角出发,探索治理机制对虚拟品牌社区中顾客参与价值共创行为的影响。本文立足交易成本理论与社会交换理论,从企业视角切入,引入关系质量作为中介变量,构建虚拟品牌社区治理机制、关系质量与顾客参与价值共创行为的关系整合模型。采用问卷调查法对模型进行验证,研究结果显示:(1)契约治理机制只对知识贡献行为产生显著正向影响,对顾客公民行为的影响不显著,而关系治理机制对知识贡献行为与顾客公民行为均具有显著正向影响。(2)关系质量在契约治理机制与顾客公民行为的关系中起完全中介作用,在契约治理机制与知识贡献行为、关系治理机制与知识贡献行为以及关系治理机制与顾客公民行为的关系中起部分中介作用。由研究结论可知,虚拟品牌社区一方面应综合运用契约治理机制与关系治理机制来有效地促进顾客参与价值共创行为,以弥补单独运用某一种治理机制存在的不足;另一方面也应注重关系质量在虚拟品牌社区中促进顾客参与价值共创行为的重要作用。这些研究发现为促进虚拟品牌社区的可持续发展提供了有价值的启示。     

A limited revolution — The distributional consequences of Open Source Software in North America

Open Source Software (OSS) has become an important alternative method of organizing the production of software and has gained in popularity and use because of its benefits and costs relative to the dominant proprietary software model. In this paper, I use evidence from the United States and Canada to examine the distribution of these benefits and costs. I argue that although the rhetoric surrounding OSS is supported empirically, the benefits of OSS have been limited because of the way this technological project has evolved within its associated policy environment. That is, although ostensibly neutral, the policies and laws of both the U.S. and Canadian governments have tended to be positioned implicitly against the use of OSS both in the public sector and in the economy generally. In addition, OSS use and development requires a set of skills that are absent in many instances or create prohibitively high costs. Thus OSS is typically used by larger organizations, and its development is restricted to a mostly male, highly educated, high-income group of contributors. Therefore while the benefits of OSS are real, the distribution of these benefits is skewed.     

虚拟社区中顾客参与对新产品开发绩效的影响——虚拟社会资本的调节作用

基于顾客参与、社会资本等理论,结合虚拟社区特性,研究虚拟社区中社会资本的3个维度对顾客参与和新产品开发绩效的调节作用。结果表明,虚拟社会资本中的结构资本正向调节交互式信息提供和新颖性之间的关系,认知资本负向调节在线参与创造和新颖性之间的关系,关系资本正向调节在线参与创造和上市速度之间的关系,其它则不具备显著调节作用。从理论上丰富了顾客参与对新产品开发绩效的影响机制研究,实践上可为企业通过虚拟社区实现交互式产品创新提供指导。     

基于概念格的产品创新知识配置研究

利用形式概念分析方法构建出产品创新知识配置的概念格模型,以Chrome吧获取浏览器产品开发信息和知识配置过程为例,基于虚拟社区取得用户需求知识,并结合1996-2013年国内浏览器相关专利数据,建立了基于虚拟社区用户需求知识的浏览器创新知识配置模型。     

虚拟社区社会资本的商业价值——基于广义虚拟经济的视角

网络中广泛存在的虚拟社区为人们提供了交流与共享的虚拟空间,在虚拟社区成员间的互动与沟通过程中,将形成一种非实物资本——社会资本.社会资本理论从三个维度上对此进行了阐释:结构维度、关系维度和认知维度.在社会化营销迅速发展的今天,虚拟社区中的社会资本也逐渐彰显出其商业价值.本文将结合社会资本理论与广义虚拟经济相关理论,以网络团购为例,对虚拟社区中社会资本对商品价值和交易活动的影响进行分析.     

虚拟学术社区促进科研合作形成的内在机理

分析虚拟学术社区促进科研合作形成的内在机理,顺应新时代科研合作发展需要,对于了解科研人员合作心理和探索互联网情境下促进科研合作的路径十分有益。以小木虫和人大经济论坛中的资深科研人员为研究对象,采用深度访谈收集数据,运用扎根理论进行程序化编码并构建理论模型,揭示促进科研合作形成因素和作用路径。结果发现,社区吸引力是外部驱动因素,求助型互动和研讨型互动是社区互动因素,体验感提升是内部驱动因素;外部驱动因素既可以直接促进科研合作形成,也可以通过依次影响社区互动因素和内部驱动因素间接促进科研合作形成。     

Boundaries innovation through knowledge convergence-developing triad strategic communities

This paper discusses the process of implementing a micro innovation strategy for the development of the company’s mainstay business at present (incremental innovation) and a future growth strategy (radical innovation) in an age when there are dramatic changes in the environment and the future is hard to predict from the perspective of boundaries innovation that the company should implement based on the creation of boundaries knowledge and convergence knowledge. To implement knowledge convergence processes, outstanding companies dynamically establish various project teams and diverse mixed teams, which are strategic communities, as well as network organisations that integrate these teams and continually generate new boundaries innovation. The paper presents a theoretical framework, a detailed case study, and new insights regarding combination of exploration and exploitation through triadic strategic community formations for boundaries innovation strategies where dynamic strategic communities that overcome and transcend various boundaries create boundaries knowledge from various different types of knowledge and dynamically converge these different types of knowledge to create new convergence knowledge (such as the development of new products and services and the development of new business models, etc.).     

虚拟顾客环境特征对新产品开发中顾客参与的影响

利用来自手机企业的虚拟社区中参与新产品开发活动顾客的调查数据,探究了虚拟顾客环境特征——交互性、社交性、易用性和使用者控制程度通过顾客体验的中介作用对顾客参与的影响机制以及顾客知识的调节作用。结果显示:交互性、社交性、易用性和使用者控制程度显著影响顾客参与;顾客体验在交互性、社交性、易用性和使用者控制程度对顾客参与的影响中起部分中介作用;顾客知识在交互性、社交性和使用者控制程度对顾客参与的影响中起显著的正向调节作用,但在易用性对顾客参与的影响中的调节作用不显著。     

Does possessing an installed base induce a proprietary software producer to act aggressively or mildly in pricing and intrinsic quality provision?

This paper investigates competition between open-source software (OSS) and proprietary software (PS) which possesses an installed base. We find that an increase in PS installed base does not necessarily induce the PS producer to increase price or reduce intrinsic quality. Specifically, if OSS is weakly (moderately) compatible with PS, then an increase in PS installed base induces the PS producer to invest less (more) in intrinsic quality. Regarding the price of PS, if OSS is highly compatible with PS possessing a large installed base, then an increase in installed base induces the PS producer to sell products for a lower price.     

开放式创新社区治理机制对用户知识贡献行为的影响

通过引入虚拟社区感知中介变量,构建开放式创新社区治理机制对用户知识贡献行为的影响关系模型,实证研究社区治理的两个维度——促进式与约束式治理机制在促进用户知识贡献行为方面的作用。结果表明,促进式与约束式治理机制对用户知识贡献行为均具有显著正向影响,虚拟社区感知在开放式创新社区治理机制与用户知识贡献行为之间起部分中介作用。据此,基于社区治理视角提出提升用户知识贡献水平的对策建议。     

基于社会认知理论的虚拟社区成员知识共享行为实证研究

在已有文献的基础上,基于社会认知理论,建立了虚拟社区成员知识共享行为理论模型,并提出了假设。通过设计关于虚拟社区成员知识共享行为的调查问卷,利用统计软件SPSS 17。0和结构方程模型统计软件Amos 17。0对收集到的数据进行量化分析。实证结果表明：社区氛围互惠、公平和创新与知识共享行为、自我效能和结果预期有显著的正相关关系;自我效能与结果预期、知识共享行为有显著的正相关关系;结果预期与知识共享行为没有显著的正相关关系。     

Alternative view on niche development: situated learning on policy communities,power and agency

In this article, we analyse how situated learning influences niche development. Situated learning is tied to social action and context, perceiving knowledge and learning as socially constructed. In addition, a dialectic view of structure and agency is adopted. Policymaking is used as an example of a community. A qualitative case study of Finnish energy policy is presented. The regime in Finland is the electricity industry that supports bioenergy, while wind energy development is supported by active individuals and a few niche actors. The full-members of the policymaking community consist of the government and the regime actors. The niche actors did learn how the community functions and developed alternative strategies accordingly, but without success. A reason could be that the niche actors excluded the regime from their strategies. We conclude that situated learning is likely to enhance niche development, but compromises in niche development may be needed.     

虚拟社区组织知识传播复杂网络研究

研究了虚拟社区组织的知识传播复杂网络,分析了组织整体的知识传播状况。基于对5个虚拟组织的问卷调查数据,得到具有不同知识传播程度的复杂网络图,并计算了不同的虚拟社区组织知识传播复杂网络的结构特性指标,包括度分布指数、聚集系数、网络平均距离、网络中心势等;将虚拟社区组织知识传播复杂网络与现实组织知识传播复杂网络进行了比较;最后对影响虚拟社区知识传播复杂网络的因素进行了分析。