01512nas a2200121   4500008004100000022001400041245004500055210004500100260004200145520115000187100001801337856003501355       2007                        eng d  a1913-610200aCompetitive Actions of Open Source Firms0 aCompetitive Actions of Open Source Firms  aOttawabTalent First Networkc11/20073 aEarly in 2006, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer made a public statement that Microsoft had no trouble competing with  open source rivals on features. Balmer was downplaying  the fact that Open Source Software (OSS) has changed the nature of competition in the software industry from one of feature-based competition to a much more complex model for competition. 

Traditional firms like Microsoft are not simply competing against a loose group of programmers who produce OSS; they are competing against other firms who have chosen to use OSS as part of their product or service offering. This article is an examination of competition in this new environment where firm-to-firm competition includes those firms making use of OSS. 

The evolution of the marketplace becomes evident when competition is viewed as a series of small, but discrete actions that are carried out by a firm. Each of these actions is intended to improve the firm's standing in the marketplace. Such actions can be classified as one of six different types of competitive action: (i) pricing, (ii) marketing, (iii) new products, (iv) capacity, (v) service, and (vi) signaling.1 aMcInnis, Glen  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/57