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Abstract
We propose a new model of knowledge creation in purposeful, loosely coordinated, distributed systems, as an alternative to a firm-based one. Specifically, using the case of the Linux kernel development project, we build a model of community-based, evolutionary knowledge creation to study how thousands of talented volunteers, dispersed across organizational and geographical boundaries, collaborate via the Internet to produce a knowledge-intensive, innovative product of high quality. By comparing and contrasting the Linux model with the traditional/commercial model of software development and firm-based knowledge creation efforts, we show how the proposed model of knowledge creation expands beyond the boundary of the firm. Our model suggests that the product development process can be effectively organized as an evolutionary process of learning driven by criticism and error correction. We conclude by offering some theoretical implications of our community-based model of knowledge creation for the literature of organizational learning, community life, and the uses of knowledge in society.
(Open Source Software Development; Innovation; Knowledge Creation)
1. Introduction
The objective of this paper is to develop a new model of knowledge creation in a distributed system, in contrast to a firm-based model. With the alternative model we hope to address the possible uses of knowledge in society, particularly the use of knowledge that leads to further expansions of knowledge or innovation. How to utilize knowledge that is dispersed among many people is the question Hayek (1945) insightfully posed. He observed that the critical problems in how to use widely dispersed knowledge are: (1) Knowledge is not, and cannot, be concentrated in a single mind, and (2) no single mind can specify in advance what kind of practical knowledge is going to be relevant, when and where (cf. Hayek 1945, 1982, 1989; Tsoukas 1994). While Hayek proposed the market where knowledge is embedded in prices as a solution to these problems, much research on knowledge-based organizations focused on hierarchy (Kogut and Zander 1996, Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995, Teece 1998). Unfortunately, the focus on hierarchy missed a key opportunity to address the problems associated with the use of distributed knowledge.
By contrast, we address the use of distributed knowledge for the purpose of innovation at the community level, beyond the boundary of a firm. In comparison, we do not, however,...