Developer experience · Internet-based questionnaire study of OSS contributors, using factors derived from Linux-community discussions and social-science models.
Motivation of Software Developers in Open Source Projects: An Internet-Based Survey of Contributors to the Linux Kernel
Research Policy · 2003
Summary
Engagement was particularly determined by identification as a Linux developer, pragmatic motives to improve one’s own software, and tolerance of time investment. Team activity was particularly related to evaluation of team goals, perceived indispensability, and self-efficacy.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Informs onboarding and retention: cultivate project identity, make contributor benefits tangible, respect time constraints, and give teams clear goals and meaningful ownership/self-efficacy.
Reported result
What the study found
Engagement was particularly determined by identification as a Linux developer, pragmatic motives to improve one’s own software, and tolerance of time investment. Team activity was particularly related to evaluation of team goals, perceived indispensability, and self-efficacy.
Research question
What the authors investigated
Which motives and social-psychological factors determine engagement and teamwork among OSS developers?
Design
Internet-based questionnaire study of OSS contributors, using factors derived from Linux-community discussions and social-science models.
Sample and setting
141 contributors to the Linux kernel.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Survey and Linux-kernel context limit generalization; self-reported cross-sectional associations do not establish causal effects.
Research sources
Fetched ScienceDirect DOI landing page establishes title, authors, venue, year, DOI, sample of 141, questionnaire design, context, and complete abstract findings. Firecrawl research job 01a1436c-f86b-77df-af1c-9a2f87e3535e returned this citation and metadata.