Open Source Software (OSS) is software which can be freely used, modified and redistributed. A variety of advantages have been hypothesised for organisations, including improving cost effectiveness and encouraging innovation.
This KK-funded project is about knowledge improvement within organisations in order to increase competitiveness and health within the Swedish OSS ecosystem. It undertakes to do this by promoting collaborative learning in and between organisations. To achieve this requires activities both at the organisational level and between the many and varied stakeholders. Primary activities will therefore break down into studies within organisations and workshops, in which prominent members from within the OSS world will discuss issues alongside organisational stakeholders. The project activities will benefit from a large international network which includes many leading experts on the various social science perspectives of Open Source.
The project will have immediate practical implications for business decision makers. Currently, little empirical evidence exists about the potential for OSS and Open Standards adoption in Swedish organisations, and what is needed to increase activities within those organisations.