| This exploratory research compiles data from six foundations (i.e., Apache Software Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, GNOME Foundation, Plone Foundation, Python Software Foundation, and Software in the Public Interest) and uses it to examine the relationship among company involvement, governance, and effectiveness of open source software foundations (OSSFs). This research: (i) organizes OSSFs into three types: Merit, Merit-Dominated, and Sponsor-Dominated based on the rights of merit and sponsor members (ii) uses the presence of open source celebrities on the OSSF's Board of Directors as a measure of prestige (iii) identifies practices and compositions of OSSF's Board of Directors (iv) develops a model on how company involvement and governance affect OSSF effectiveness and (v) provides observations useful to executive directors of OSSFs, companies' top management teams who anchor business models around open source software projects, and academics who study nonprofit organizations. |
