A Proposed Framework for Assessing the Factors Influencing the Adoption of Free and Open Source Application Software in Organizations

In this paper we propose a framework for assessing the factors influencing the adoption of free and open source application software in business and other organizations. While there have been several interesting examples of free and open source application software adoption by organizations, these have been limited. This research explores factors that potentially influence the adoption of F/OSS in organizations or serve as barriers to such. INTRODUCTION There is widespread interest in the adoption of free and open source software (F/OSS) at individual, organizational, national, and international levels (Al Marzouq, et al., 2005; Fitzgerald & Kenny, 2004; Mrquez, 2004; Weerawarana & Weeratunga, 2004). This, because of the nascent belief that this type of software will be cheaper to develop and own, will increase flexibility and security, while reducing dependence on predatory proprietary software vendors. Interest in F/OSS is not one way. Proprietary software developers and vendors which stand to lose much if F/OSS in adopted by organizations are keen to counter the claims of those advocating its adoption (Al Marzouq, et al., 2005). According to Al Marzouq, et al., (2005 p. 756) “The terms free and open source refer to software that anyone can freely redistribute, analyze and modify while complying with certain criteria.” Free software and open source software, while similar have different genesis, objectives, and licensing regimes (Al Marzouq, et al., 2005). Whatever definition is chosen there are two important features of F/OSS: one is that the source code is made available and can be modified and the other is that the software is redistributed freely (Robson, 2003). The availability of the source code allows the individual or organization that acquires it to make changes and, depending on the licensing regime associated with the software, redistribute it if they, in turn, make the source code available. Although the software is said to be free this does not mean that its adoption will be at zero cost (Towle, McFarland, & Keppler, 2004). Considerable costs may still be incurred, including the cost of software modification and ongoing support. Because of the uncertainties associated with adopting F/OSS, managers are often unclear as to what the total cost of adoption might be. One of the major potential benefits of the F/OSS option is that it can lower software costs, including licensing fees, which can be quite substantial (Hayes, 2003). Another advantage for organizations is that since the source code is available for modification, the F/OSS can be easily modified to fit specific organizational or process needs. This can result in higher quality software and greater flexibility. It may also result in software that is more secure, a claim often advanced by F/OSS advocates. The opportunity to customize software also creates the potential for developing a local IT industry as organizations that acquire open source are unlikely to be interested in tailoring and maintaining it themselves. Local IT companies can seize this opportunity to provide ongoing technical and operational support (Tina, 2005). The continued use of proprietary software is becoming increasingly prohibitive for less developed economies as they seek to apply information technology or participate in the software industry (Dreiling, Klaus, Roseman, & Wyssusek, 2005). F/OSS may be used by countries as an IT strategy to create value in the economy. This translates into new business opportunities in the IT sector for private firms, reduction of IT cost in the economy for both government and private firms, and improvement in effectiveness and efficiency of governance (Weerawarana & Weeratunga, 2004). Local organizations should be able to save as well as generate foreign currency through import substitution. This is especially important for developing countries, as they will not have to pay out large amounts in foreign currency for software acquisition and support services. The potential benefits to organizations and countries from adopting F/ OSS have already caused governments, especially those in developing countries, to encourage its use (Schulz, 2001). Several countries including Brazil, Venezuela, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Peru, and South Korea are actively promoting the adoption of F/OSS in government as well as private sector organizations. There may be other benefits for countries. For example, large proprietary software companies have approached Venezuela with lucrative deals to encourage it to continue to use their software (Sojo, 2004). Having a viable F/OSS strategy gives countries substantial negotiating power. However, if this move to F/OSS is to be successful, the software will have to be adopted and diffused throughout and among organizations. A key issue therefore facing managers as well as policy makers is to identify the factors that enable or serve as barriers to the widespread adoption of F/OSS applications by organizations. While there has been a great deal of interest in F/OSS from the supplier side (i.e. the provisioning of F/OSS software) there is limited work that addresses the demand side (Wheeler, 2004). In our exploration of the literature only a limited number of studies have focused substantively and systematically on the adoption of F/OSS in organizations (Fitzgerald and Kenny, 2004; Waring and Maddocks, 2005; Brandon, 2005). IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING This paper appears in the book, Emerging Trends and Challenges in Information Technology Management, Volume 1 and Volume 2 edited by Mehdi Khosrow-Pour © 2006, Idea Group Inc. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITB12819 334 2006 IRMA International Conference Copyright © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. The aim of this research therefore is to identify factors that enable or serve as barriers to the adoption of F/OSS. The salient research questions are as follows: What are the main factors that influence the adoption of F/OSS applications by organizations? What are the inter-relationships among these factors, and what additional factors explain the level of influence of the main factors? In the following sections we will review the existing literature to identify and explain the factors that could influence the adoption of F/OSS. We then propose a model for the adoption of F/OSS, which we will use to derive a set of propositions that serve as the basis for future research. While studies of individual adoption of IT predominate the IS literature, the work in this paper focuses on the organizational adoption of IT (King and Gribbins, 2002). RELEVANT LITERATURE A growing body of research on F/OSS exist. However, the focus of much of this research is on the supply side of F/OSS. Research focusing on F/ OSS development approaches, methods, communities, and the like are becoming more substantive (O’Reilly, 1999; von Hippel and von Krogh, 2003; Crowston and Howison, 2005; Jin, et al., 2005). However, although there has been much debate in the media lately about the benefits of and barriers to the adoption of F/OSS, generating a number of articles and news reports about its adoption both at the country level and organizational level (Economist, 2003; Fredrick, 2003; Karp, 2003; Mrquez, 2004; Sojo, 2004; Weerawarana & Weeratunga, 2004), few studies provide in-depth insights into the phenomena. Only a limited number of published research exist that focus on the demand side of F/ OSS (Fitzgerald and Kenny, 2004; Waring and Maddocks, 2005). This dearth of empirical research limits the amount accumulated knowledge on the subject on which we can draw. The interest in the perceived barriers to the adoption of F/OSS (Farber, 2004)has mainly come about because of the need to understand the relatively low diffusion rate and usage of F/OSS applications in organizations. Some of the views as to why this is so are: a lack of formal support; the velocity of change brought about by developers continually modifying the software makes it difficult for organizations to maintain it; the lack of a roadmap makes it more difficult for the chief information officer (CIO) to plan; licensing issues; and issues related to accountability (Farber, 2004). Also there is uncertainty about the cost of switching and the total cost of ownership associated with F/OSS. FORMULATING A MODEL FOR THE ADOPTION OF F/OSS Several IT adoption and diffusion frameworks have been used for IT generally and could be considered for this study (Agarwal, 2000; Hall & Khan, 2003; Moore & Benbasat, 2001; Rogers, 2003). These models, as well as several others, focus on individual adoption behaviors and decisions. They do not necessarily lend themselves to studying organizational adoption of technology (King and Gribbins, 2002). Other models such as the McFarlan and McKenney (1982) model, concerned with the assimilation of new technology into organizations, emphasize the actual process of technology adoption rather than the factors influencing organizational adoption. In addressing the factors influencing F/OSS adoption in organizations we see the need for a framework that specifically highlights these issues. PROPOSED FRAMEWORK Our review of the existing literature supplemented by the views of several scholars and practitioners, reveal four factors that seem to affect the adoption of F/OSS. They are the confidence of IT and business managers in F/OSS, the uncertainty of the TCO of F/OSS, the availability of technical support for F/OSS, and the level of government support for F/OSS. We have further decomposed the four specific factors, identified earlier, into a set of propositions (P N ) and associated these with a set of possible explanatory variables. These factors and their associated variables that are believed to influence F/OSS adoption ar