Open Source Innovation: Theoretical Connotations, Knowledge Framework and Future Prospects

开源创新:理论内涵、知识框架与未来展望

Abstract

With the rapid development of the digital economy and artificial intelligence, open innovation models have become increasingly widespread, emerging as a crucial driver of scientific and technological progress and economic growth. However, discussions in existing literature on aspects such as discussing the connotation of open source innovation, differentiating theoretical perspectives, and analyzing and engaging in dialogue on research topics are scattered, lacking systematic review and summary. This paper conducts a comprehensive review of 321 papers related to the theme of open source innovation that were included in SSCI-indexed journals from 2001 to 2023. Based on a review of the origin of open source innovation, it deeply analyzes the theoretical connotations of this concept and summarizes the dominant theoretical perspectives for distinguishing the existing connotations of open source innovation. Further, this paper constructs an “Element-Mechanism-Outcome (EMO)” knowledge framework for open source innovation. It summarizes four basic elements of open source innovation (open source developers, open source projects, open source communities, and open source licenses), three major mechanisms in the operation process of open source innovation (development collaboration mechanism, community regulation mechanism, and business operation mechanism), and three aspects of effectiveness in the value evaluation of open source innovation (scientific and technological effectiveness, industrial effectiveness, and social effectiveness). This paper also puts forward the future research prospects of open source innovation, thereby contributing to the expansion of knowledge in theoretical research on open source innovation and providing insights for the policy practice of open source innovation.