Measuring the Economic Value of Open Source

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