Knowledge sharing in open source software communities: motivations and management

Abstract

Abstract:Purpose: This article seeks to add to understandings of knowledge sharing in online communities through an investigation of the relationship between individual participant's motivations and management in Open Source Software (OSS) communities. Drawing on a review of literature concerning knowledge sharing in organisations, the factors that motivate participants to share their knowledge in OSS communities, and the management of such communities, it is hypothesised that the quality of management influences the extent to which the motivations of members actually result in knowledge sharing. Methodology: To test the hypothesis, quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire survey of OSS web developers with the aim of gathering respondents' opinions concerning knowledge sharing, motivations to share knowledge, and satisfaction with the management of OSS projects. Factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were employed to explore the survey data. Findings: The analysis of the data reveals that the individual participant's satisfaction with the management of an OSS project is an important factor influencing the extent of their personal contribution to a community. Originality: Little attention has been devoted to understanding the impact of management in OSS communities. Focused on OSS developers specialising in web development, the findings of this article offer an important original contribution to understanding the connections between individual members' satisfaction with management and their motivations to contribute to an OSS project. The findings reveal that motivations to share knowledge in online communities are influenced by the quality of management. Consequently, the findings suggest that appropriate management can enhance knowledge sharing in OSS projects and online communities, and organisations more generally. Acknowledgments:The authors would like to thank Dr Nick Drydakis for advice on the presentation of the quantitative data and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and helpful suggestions. In addition, the authors gratefully acknowledge Durham University for the doctoral scholarships from Ustinov College and Durham University Business School, which made possible the empirical research from which this article draws. IntroductionThe effective management of knowledge is a primary concern for organisations seeking to compete in the contemporary economic environment (Grant, 1996). Consequently, knowledge management strategies have become widespread (Hislop, 2013; Davenport and Prusak, 1998;Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; inter alia). Knowledge management may be defined as 'any process or practice of creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing and using knowledge, wherever it resides, to enhance learning and performance in organisations' (Scarbrough et al., 1999, p. 1). Knowledge sharing is, then, central to knowledge management practices (Renzl, 2008;Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005). In the process of sharing, knowledge is not only...

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