开源软件项目发起人个体特征对项目绩效的影响——基于Github的实证研究

Effect of Individual Characteristics of Open Source Software Project Initiator on Project Performance: Empirical Evidence from GitHub

摘要:

基于开源软件项目发起人个体行为视角，以全球最大的开源软件代码托管平台GitHub上的8053组开源软件项目为研究对象，并随机收集了333位项目发起人问卷数据，探索项目发起人对项目绩效的影响及其作用机理，以及知识共享在二者之间的中介作用。研究发现：（1）开源软件项目发起人作为特殊开发者，其参与动机、个人价值观、个人影响力和创新意识对项目绩效具有显著正向影响，其中前两者比后两者的重要性更大；（2）开源社区内的知识共享对项目绩效起到了部分中介作用，高效的知识共享与清晰的知识流转过程对于项目最终质量起着至关重要的作用。研究表明，开源软件项目发起人对于促进开源社区的知识共享与提高项目绩效起到重要的影响作用，而知识共享在项目发起人与项目绩效之间起到中介效应。

Abstract:

Based on the perspective of individual behavior of open source software project initiators, 8,053 groups of open source software projects on GitHub, the world's largest open source software code hosting platform, and the questionnaire data of 333 project initiators were collected to explore the influence of project initiators on project performance and its mechanism of action, as well as the mediating role of knowledge sharing between both. The results indicate that open source software project initiators, as special developers, have significant positive effects on project performance in terms of their participation motivation, personal values, personal influence and innovation awareness, among which the first two are more important than the last two; knowledge sharing within the open source community plays a partly mediating role on project performance, and efficient knowledge sharing and clear knowledge flow process play a crucial role in the final quality of the project. The results reveal that open source software project initiators play an important influence on promoting knowledge sharing in open source communities and improving project performance, while knowledge sharing plays a mediating effect between project initiators and project performance.