TY - JOUR T1 - Code Forking, Governance, and Sustainability in Open Source Software JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2013 A1 - Linus Nyman A1 - Juho Lindman KW - code forking; open source software; sustainability; innovation; planned obsolescence AB - The right to fork open source code is at the core of open source licensing. All open source licenses grant the right to fork their code, that is to start a new development effort using an existing code as its base. Thus, code forking represents the single greatest tool available for guaranteeing sustainability in open source software. In addition to bolstering program sustainability, code forking directly affects the governance of open source initiatives. Forking, and even the mere possibility of forking code, affects the governance and sustainability of open source initiatives on three distinct levels: software, community, and ecosystem. On the software level, the right to fork makes planned obsolescence, versioning, vendor lock-in, end-of-support issues, and similar initiatives all but impossible to implement. On the community level, forking impacts both sustainability and governance through the power it grants the community to safeguard against unfavourable actions by corporations or project leaders. On the business-ecosystem level forking can serve as a catalyst for innovation while simultaneously promoting better quality software through natural selection. Thus, forking helps keep open source initiatives relevant and presents opportunities for the development and commercialization of current and abandoned programs. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 3 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/644 IS - 1 U1 - Hanken School of Economics Linus Nyman is a doctoral student at the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland, where he studies code forking in open source software. When not researching, he can sometimes be found lecturing on corporate strategy or open source software. Other areas of interest include freemium business models and MMORPGs (online gaming). Linus has a Master’s degree in economics from the Hanken School of Economics. U2 - Hanken School of Economics Juho Lindman is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems Science at the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland. Juho defended his doctoral dissertation focusing on open source software development organization at the Aalto University School of Economics in Helsinki. In the field of information systems, his current research is focused in the areas of open source software development, open data, and organizational change. ER -