Investigating Power Relations in Open Source Software Ecosystems
Resumo
Context: Relationships within open-source software ecosystems (OSSECO) emerge from collaborations within an ecosystem. Power relations are present in this context whenever an entity has the power of making other entities act as it wants them to act. Therefore, these power relations could affect collaboration within an OSSECO. Objective: This research aims at investigating power relations and providing an understanding of them in OSSECO. A conceptual model will be refined and will represent the power relations and their dynamics. Method: A systematic mapping study was conducted to gather knowledge about power relations from previous studies, and a survey research, considering this knowledge, was conducted with randomly selected npm OSSECO community members to evaluate that knowledge. Next, interviews with selected ecosystem community members will be conducted to identify the types of power relations and their dynamics within an OSSECO. Based on the results from the previous phases, a conceptual model to represent power relations and their dynamics in OSSECO will be refined. Results: The literature review and the survey research with the npm OSSECO community show that, as expected, power relations are present and affect relationships and interactions within an OSSECO. Hierarchy and financial rewards seem to be related to the power relations within the OSSECO. Implications: Identifying power relations that might be present within an OSSECO would enable those who study or are members of the ecosystem's community to understand previous movements and predict future decisions based on the power relations present in their OSSECO.
Palavras-chave:
Software Ecosystem, Open-Source Software, Power Relation
Referências
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Angeren, J., Kabbedijk, J., Jansen, S., and Popp, K. (2011). A Survey of Associate Models used within Large Software Ecosystems. Computing, 746, pages 27–39.
Constantinou, E., and Mens, T. (2017). An empirical comparison of developer retention in the RubyGems and npm software ecosystems. Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering, 13, pages 101–115.
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Gerosa, M., Wiese, I., Trinkenreich, B., Link, G., Robles, G., Treude, C., Steinmacher, I., and Sarma, A. (2021). The Shifting Sands of Motivation: Revisiting What Drives Contributors in Open Source. In IEEE/ACM 43rd International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), pages 1046–1058.
Jansen, S., Brinkkemper, S., and Cusumano, M. Software Ecosystems: Analyzing and Managing Business Networks in the Software Industry. Edward Elgar Publishing, Incorporated, 2013.
Jergensen, C., Sarma, A., and Wagstrom, P. (2011). The onion patch: Migration in open source ecosystems. In SIGSOFT/FSE 2011 Proceedings of the 19th ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on Foundations of Software Engineering, pages 70–80.
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Linåker, J., and Runeson, P. (2020). Public Sector Platforms going Open: Creating and Growing an Ecosystem with Open Collaborative Development. In Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Open Collaboration (OpenSym 2020), pages 1–10.
Marsan, J., Templier, M., Marois, P., Adams, B., Carillo, K., and Mopenza, G. (2019). Toward Solving Social and Technical Problems in Open Source Software Ecosystems: Using Cause-and-Effect Analysis to Disentangle the Causes of Complex Problems. IEEE Software, 36, pages 34–41.
Palazzi, M., Cabot, J., Izquierdo, J., Solé-Ribalta, A., and Borge-Holthoefer, J. (2019). Online division of labour: emergent structures in Open Source Software. Scientific Reports, 9, pages 1–11.
Schaarschmidt, M., and Kortzfleisch, H. F. (2015). Firms' Resource Deployment and Project Leadership in Open Source Software Development. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 12, pages 1–18.
Steglich, C., Marczak, S., Santos, R., Mosmann, L., Guerra, L., Souza, C., Filho, F., and Perin, M. (2020). How do Business Factors Affect Developers in Mobile Software Ecosystems? XVI Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems (SBSI'20), Article 1, pages 1–8.
Stehr, N., and Adolf, M. (2018). Knowledge/Power/Resistance. Society, 55, pages 193–198.
Strauss, A, and Corbin, J. (2007). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. SAGE Publications, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Teixeira, J., Robles, G., and Gonzalez-Barahona, J. (2015). Lessons Learned from Applying Social Network Analysis on an Industrial Free/Libre/Open Source Software Ecosystem. Journal of Internet Services and Applications, 6:14, pages 1– 27.
Telleria, J. (2017). Power relations? What power relations? The de-politicising conceptualisation of development of the UNDP. Third World Quarterly, 38:9, pages 2143–2158.
Valença, G., and Alves, C. (2017). A theory of power in emerging software ecosystems formed by small-to-medium enterprises. Journal of Systems and Software, 134, pages 76–104.
Valença, G., Alves, C., and Jansen, S. (2018). Strategies for managing power relationships in software ecosystems. Journal of Systems and Software, 144, pages 478–500.
Alves, C., Valença, G., and Franch, X. (2019). Exercising Power in Software Ecosystems. In IEEE Software, 36, pages 50–54.
Angeren, J., Kabbedijk, J., Jansen, S., and Popp, K. (2011). A Survey of Associate Models used within Large Software Ecosystems. Computing, 746, pages 27–39.
Constantinou, E., and Mens, T. (2017). An empirical comparison of developer retention in the RubyGems and npm software ecosystems. Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering, 13, pages 101–115.
Costa, L.A., Fontão, A., and Santos, R. (2020). Investigating Asset Governance Mechanisms in a Proprietary Software Ecosystem. In XVI Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems (SBSI'20), Article 25, pages 1–8.
Foucault, M. (1977), Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Pantheon Books.
Franco-Bedoya, O., Ameller, D., Costal, D., and Franch, X. (2017). Open source software ecosystems: A Systematic mapping. Information and Software Technology 91, pages 160–185.
Gerosa, M., Wiese, I., Trinkenreich, B., Link, G., Robles, G., Treude, C., Steinmacher, I., and Sarma, A. (2021). The Shifting Sands of Motivation: Revisiting What Drives Contributors in Open Source. In IEEE/ACM 43rd International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), pages 1046–1058.
Jansen, S., Brinkkemper, S., and Cusumano, M. Software Ecosystems: Analyzing and Managing Business Networks in the Software Industry. Edward Elgar Publishing, Incorporated, 2013.
Jergensen, C., Sarma, A., and Wagstrom, P. (2011). The onion patch: Migration in open source ecosystems. In SIGSOFT/FSE 2011 Proceedings of the 19th ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on Foundations of Software Engineering, pages 70–80.
Kitchenham, B. A., Budgen, D., and Brereton, P. (2015). Evidence-based software engineering and systematic reviews. CRC Press.
Linåker, J., Regnell, B., and Damian, D. (2020). A method for analyzing stakeholders’ influence on an open source software ecosystem’s requirement engineering process. Requirements Engineering 25, pages 115–130.
Linåker, J., and Runeson, P. (2020). Public Sector Platforms going Open: Creating and Growing an Ecosystem with Open Collaborative Development. In Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Open Collaboration (OpenSym 2020), pages 1–10.
Marsan, J., Templier, M., Marois, P., Adams, B., Carillo, K., and Mopenza, G. (2019). Toward Solving Social and Technical Problems in Open Source Software Ecosystems: Using Cause-and-Effect Analysis to Disentangle the Causes of Complex Problems. IEEE Software, 36, pages 34–41.
Palazzi, M., Cabot, J., Izquierdo, J., Solé-Ribalta, A., and Borge-Holthoefer, J. (2019). Online division of labour: emergent structures in Open Source Software. Scientific Reports, 9, pages 1–11.
Schaarschmidt, M., and Kortzfleisch, H. F. (2015). Firms' Resource Deployment and Project Leadership in Open Source Software Development. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 12, pages 1–18.
Steglich, C., Marczak, S., Santos, R., Mosmann, L., Guerra, L., Souza, C., Filho, F., and Perin, M. (2020). How do Business Factors Affect Developers in Mobile Software Ecosystems? XVI Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems (SBSI'20), Article 1, pages 1–8.
Stehr, N., and Adolf, M. (2018). Knowledge/Power/Resistance. Society, 55, pages 193–198.
Strauss, A, and Corbin, J. (2007). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. SAGE Publications, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Teixeira, J., Robles, G., and Gonzalez-Barahona, J. (2015). Lessons Learned from Applying Social Network Analysis on an Industrial Free/Libre/Open Source Software Ecosystem. Journal of Internet Services and Applications, 6:14, pages 1– 27.
Telleria, J. (2017). Power relations? What power relations? The de-politicising conceptualisation of development of the UNDP. Third World Quarterly, 38:9, pages 2143–2158.
Valença, G., and Alves, C. (2017). A theory of power in emerging software ecosystems formed by small-to-medium enterprises. Journal of Systems and Software, 134, pages 76–104.
Valença, G., Alves, C., and Jansen, S. (2018). Strategies for managing power relationships in software ecosystems. Journal of Systems and Software, 144, pages 478–500.
Publicado
27/09/2021
Como Citar
FARIAS, Victor Garcia; SANTOS, Rodrigo; WIESE, Igor; SEREBRENIK , Alexander; CONSTANTINOU, Eleni.
Investigating Power Relations in Open Source Software Ecosystems. In: WORKSHOP DE TESES E DISSERTAÇÕES (WTDSOFT) - CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE SOFTWARE: TEORIA E PRÁTICA (CBSOFT), 12. , 2021, Joinville.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2021
.
p. 53-59.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/cbsoft_estendido.2021.17282.
