LINUX FOUNDATION RESEARCH

We’re investigating the impact of open source collaboration to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.

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About LF Research

LF Research publishes actionable and decision-useful insights into open source software, hardware, standards, and data based on empirical research methodologies. Through leveraging community networks, project databases, surveys, and qualitative findings, and through its commitment to best practices in primary research, Linux Foundation Research is the definitive home for data-driven insights into open source for the benefit of governments, enterprises, and society at large.

35 Years of Linux

How did a hobby project evolve into the open source engine of global infrastructure? The milestone report by LF Research examines the kernel’s historic and organic evolution as well as its present-day impact. 

 

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Participate in Our Research

Join the LF Research Forum and participate in our surveys and interviews to give back to your community and earn events & training discounts!

 

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Interested in conducting research?

Review our prospectus for more information, and email us at research@linuxfoundation.org

 

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Measuring the Economic Value of Open Source

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Open source technologies are free to use, making them challenging to value in economic terms. While the reasons for contributing to open source code have been extensively studied, the reasons for adopting open source, and the value of that adoption, have received less attention.

Professor Henry Chesbrough, a pioneer on the subject of open innovation, conducted a survey to measure the economic value of open source, analyzing where and to what extent companies experience benefits of open source adoption. Aggregating the findings of this survey, this report discusses the perceived economic benefits of open source software, including cost savings, faster development, open standards, and interoperability.

To learn more about how individuals value open source from an economic perspective, and gain evidence-based insight on the value of supporting open source adoption, read the full report!

Author: Henry Chesbrough, Luiss University and UC Berkeley

With a foreword by Irving Wladawsky-Berger, MIT Sloan School of Management

DOI: 10.70828/MNOD1451

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