Governance practices and software maintenance: A study of open source projects

• Published in: Decision Support Systems Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 23 - 32
• Main Authors: Midha, Vishal, Bhattacherjee, Anol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.12.2012; Elsevier; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Computer programs; Computer science; control theory; systems; Exact sciences and technology; Firm modelling; Freeware; Governance; Hypotheses; Maintenance; Management; Open source software; Operational research and scientific management; Operational research. Management science; Participation management; Public domain; Responsibility management; Software; Software engineering; Software maintenance; Source code; Studies; Two dimensional; Vocabularies & taxonomies; Participation management; Software maintenance; Governance; Open source software; Responsibility management; Hypothesis test; Software development; Taxonomy; Project management; Responsibility; Software engineering
• ISSN: 0167-9236; 1873-5797
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2012.03.002

We have proposed a two-dimensional taxonomy of open source project governance, namely participation management and responsibility management. We have then formulated four hypotheses by linking the two dimensions to software maintenance time. These hypotheses were tested using maintenance data from 352 open source software projects. This study contributes to open source software maintenance literature by demonstrating the effects of the two governance dimensions on open source software maintenance outcomes. ► Prepares a two-dimensional taxonomy of OSS governance practices ► Proposes a theoretical model suggesting impact of governance practices on maintenance tasks ► Open responsibility and external participation influence enhancive maintenance tasks. ► Delegated responsibility and internal participation influence corrective maintenance tasks.