Cristina Rossi Lamastra

Software Innovativeness: A Comparison between Proprietary and Free/Open Source Solutions Offered by Italian SMEs

Innovation processes taking place in the software sector are already widely debated. The widespread success of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) raises new research issues, dealing with whether and how the free circulation of ideas championed by the movement and its collective management of intellectual property rights fosters innovation. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the literature by addressing the following research questions: are programs based on FOSS solutions more innovative than proprietary ones, and, if so, which innovation dimensions are typical of the FOSS production mode? Based on a sample of 134 software solutions produced by Italian Small and Medium Enterprises and using a methodology frequently applied in technology management to evaluate innovativeness of products and services, this exploratory study provides initial insights into what happens when alternative metrics are used to observe complex innovation processes in the software market.

A Survey on Firms’ Participation in Open Source Community Projects

The role of firms in commercial Open Source projects (e.g., former MySQL, EnterpriseDB, SugarCRM) is a consolidated and generally accepted fact. On other hand, community Open Source projects, which are built upon communities and not directly associated with firms, are commonly perceived to be based mainly on the work of volunteers. Up to now, firms’ role in these projects has been poorly investigated. We conducted a survey on 1,302 SourceForge.net projects to inquire about the level and the typology of involvement of firms. We propose three different models for firm participation and provide empirical evidence on their diffusion in SourceForge.net.

Panel: Governance in Open Source Projects and Communities

“Although considerable research has been devoted to the growth and expansion of open source communities and the comparison between the efficiency of corporate structures and community structures in the field of software development, rather less attention has been paid to their governance structures (control, monitoring, supervision)” (Lattemann and Stieglitz 2005).

La delega dell'autorità decisionale nelle acquisizioni di NTBF: l'impatto sull'innovazione

The paper considers the acquisition of a high-tech start-up and analyzes how the allocation of innovation decision-making powers has an impact on the post-acquisition innovation activity of the target firm. These powers may be delegated to the key inventors of the acquired firm or centralized by the acquiring firm. The authors develop a theoretical model that integrates the insights offered by the competence- and resource-based views into a framework based on recent developments in delegation theory. The model leads to testable predictions related to the moderating effect of several factors on the relationship between the delegation (or centralization) of decisions and the post-acquisition innovation performance. Specifically, we consider the following factors: i) the reasons behind the acquisition (explorative vs. exploitative); ii) the technological connection between the acquiring and the acquired firms; and iii) the nature of the buyer’s previous acquisition experience. The model has relevant normative implications for the management of the buyer firm relating to the post-acquisition reorganization of the start-up.