Company Participation in Open Source Software Communities: Measuring Sustainability

Abstract

<div>A framework for analysing the sustainability of a</div> <div>community in four dimensions – social, cultural, legal and</div> <div>economical – is presented. The framework is further</div> <div>differentiated by taking into account the different types of</div> <div>open source software communities, particularly with regard to</div> <div>their work ethics: voluntary or salary-based. In conclusion,</div> <div>the framework is tentatively applied to two communities,</div> <div>Debian and Eclipse.</div> <div>A framework for analysing the sustainability of a community in four dimensions – social, cultural, legal and economical – is presented. The framework is further differentiated by taking into account the different types of open source software communities, particularly with regard to their work ethics: voluntary or salary-based. In conclusion, the framework is tentatively applied to two communities, Debian and Eclipse.</div>