Open source software participation: Developer motivations and performance

This dissertation examines questions related to the provisioning of software development expertise to globally distributed, freely available, public software development projects---i.e., open source software (OSS). Relying almost exclusively volunteer labor, OSS projects have played a fundamental role in the development of the Internet by contributing to such remarkable software such as Linux and the Apache-WEB server. This dissertation conducts a rigorous analysis into issues related to OSS developer motivations and performance. This work yields detailed data and models exploring the sources and consequences of OSS developer motivations. Understanding these motivations is critical for both software producers and consumers. Producers hope to exploit the competitive advantages of "costless" OSS development. Consumers seek to understand the risks associated with adoption of OSS products. A deeper understanding OSS development has implications for IT strategies that organizations should pursue over time. Understanding the incentive structure underlying OSS participation is a significant part of this process.; Part one of this work provides insight into the motivational profiles of OSS contributors. Adopting a functionalist view of motivation, I identify and empirically examine eight functional dimensions of motivation. This work contributes to the growing literature on OSS development by providing insight into the underlying motivational profiles of participation and by identifying the relative importance of motivations within those profiles. Why developers contribute freely without direct remuneration has been widely debated; part two of this work develops and tests the career incentives hypothesis of OSS participation. Analysis of panel-data covering a six year period reveals that participation may indeed, in part, be explained by existing theories in labor economics. Lastly, part three of this work explores the relationship between OSS developer motivational profiles and their project related outcomes. Understanding how OSS projects attract contributions in sufficient number is a central theme in OSS research. This study contributes to this research stream by revealing how develop motivations are interrelated, how these motivations influence subsequent participation and performance, and how past performance influences their subsequent motivations.