Social Aspects of Open Source Software: Motivation, Organization, and Economics

Abstract

Open source software/free software (OSS/FS), also abbreviated as FLOSS/FOSS (free/libre and open source software), has risen to great prominence. Existing literature from diverse disciplines or through interdisciplinary studies have tried to explain the growth and success of the phenomenon. This chapter describes and discusses OSS/FS under the scope of three major aspects: motivations that lead to OSS/FS, the organization of OSS/FS communities and the economic theory as a means of explaining the manifold phenomenon. Furthermore, the chapter analyzes the social implications that lie underneath the OSS/FS diffusion, together with the social processes that take place in OSS/FS communities in an effort to enhance our understanding of the diverse mechanisms that disseminate OSS/FS rapidly.