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Open Source Communities and Forks: A Rereading in the Light of Albert Hirschman's Writings

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Open Source Systems (OSS 2021)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 624))

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Abstract

The literature dedicated to free and open source software emphasizes the support given by the community to software producers. However, the community is also a place of conflict and can sometimes experience violent splits (forks). Communities can show different forms of resistance to change. In this research, we propose a re-reading of these mechanisms of opposition in light of Albert Hirschman's theory (exit, voice, loyalty). We present the fork as a new form of defection (exit) allowed by licenses and discuss the rationality of choice for the economic actors who implement it.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the FabricAr3v cross-border project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Mons, Mons, Belgium

    Robert Viseur

  2. University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Amel Charleux

Authors
  1. Robert Viseur
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  2. Amel Charleux
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Viseur .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Davide Taibi

  2. LUT University, Lahti, Finland

    Valentina Lenarduzzi

  3. Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Terhi Kilamo

  4. Université de Paris and Inria, Paris, France

    Stefano Zacchiroli

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Viseur, R., Charleux, A. (2021). Open Source Communities and Forks: A Rereading in the Light of Albert Hirschman's Writings. In: Taibi, D., Lenarduzzi, V., Kilamo, T., Zacchiroli, S. (eds) Open Source Systems. OSS 2021. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 624. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75251-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75251-4_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-75250-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-75251-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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