Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities

Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities Rewat Thapa Dr. Simeon Vidolov Ph. D. Student Assistant Professor Information Systems and Interorganisational Systems Group University of Muenster, Germany Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities

Motivation Open Source Software (OSS)– new modes of organising Leadership brings success in OSS communities Linus Torvalds Leadership as a ‘plural’ phenomenon Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov step ping dow n “Get some assistance on how to understand people’s emotions and respond appropriately” Use of derogatory language Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities Very rude while interacting 2

Research Question How can we explore and evaluate the leadership capacity of an open source software community from a distributed leadership perspective? Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities 3

Literature Review Leadership in OSS Network Dimension Technocratic Dimension Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov Empathic Dimension Technical contribution Network engagement Appreciation Assessment Network connecting Personalized interaction Guidelines formulation Help-giving Pointing to the links Facilitating engagement and references Engaging newbies Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities 4

Research Method § Drupal community § An open source software community comprising of more than 30, 000 committers and more than a million users § We selected four active Drupal leaders and analysed their three months of interaction § We conducted social network analysis and uncovered leaders’ network level practices § We performed pragmatic and discourse analysis and recognised leaders’ technocratic and emphatic practices Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities 5

Leadership Style Figure 1: Leader A (Strategic style) Figure 3: Leader C (Technocratic-strategic style) Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov Figure 2: Leader B (Technocratic-empathic style) Figure 4: Leader D (Empathic style) Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities 6

Collective Leadership Capability Figure: Collective leadership capability Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities 7

Thank you Rewat Thapa Chair of Information Systems and Interorganisational Systems University of Muenster, Department of Information Systems Leonardo Campus 11, 48149, Muenster, Germany Email: rewat. thapa@wi. uni-muenster. de Rewat Thapa Simeon Vidolov Evaluating Distributed Leadership in Open Source Software Communities