Virtual collaborative spaces: a case study on the antecedents of collaboration in an open-source software community

Abstract

Collaboration enables the sharing amongst individuals of resources and knowledge required to innovate. In recent years, this phenomenon has increasingly manifested in virtual collaborative spaces such as open-source software communities because of the advancement in the use of online technologies and the heightened need for distance work. However, it is still unclear which underlying mechanisms foster collaboration in these spaces. By using the Linux kernel open-source software community as a case study, we analyze data from the linux-pci@vger.kernel.org mailing list to model the influence of proximity on the likelihood of collaboration between individuals. Our dataset is composed of 10,513 message replies to the PCI mailing list posted by its 654 active members in the years 2013 to 2015. Our results show that geographical proximity does not have a direct impact on collaboration, while organizational features defined by institutional and organizational proximity do significantly affect collaboration. Cognitive and social proximity also significantly, and positively, affects collaboration, but these relationships show an inverted u-shaped form. Our results confirm the need to develop specific theorizing about virtual spaces, as they present unique features when compared to traditional physical environments.