Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Information Systems

Abstract

The increasing popularity and use of Open Source Software (OSS) has led to significant interest from research communities and enterprise practitioners, notably in the small business sector where this type of software offers particular benefits given the financial and human capital constraints faced. However, there has been little focus on developing valid frameworks that enable critical evaluation and common understanding of factors influencing OSS adoption. This paper seeks to address this shortcoming by presenting a theory-grounded framework for exploring these factors and explaining their influence on OSS adoption, with the context of study being small- to medium-sized Information Technology (IT) businesses in the U.K. The framework has implications for this type of business – and, we will suggest, more widely – as a frame of reference for understanding, and as tool for evaluating benefits and challenges in, OSS adoption. It also offers researchers a structured way of investigating adoption issues and a base from which to develop models of OSS adoption. The study reported in this paper used the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) as a basis for the research propositions, with the aim of: (i) developing a framework of empirical factors that influence OSS adoption; and (ii) appraising it through case study evaluation with 10 U.K. Small- to medium-sized enterprises in the IT sector. The demonstration of the capabilities of the framework suggests that it is able to provide a reliable explanation of the complex and subjective factors that influence attitudes, subjective norms and control over the use of OSS. The paper further argues that the DTPB proved useful in this research area and that it can provide a variety of situation-specific insights related to factors that influence the adoption of OSS.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agarwal R (2000) Individual acceptance of information technologies. In Framing the Domains of let Management: Projecting the Future through the Past (ZMUD RW, Ed.), pp 85–104, Pinnacle Education Resources, Cincinnati, OH.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen I (1985) From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behaviour. In Action-Control: From Cognition to Behaviour (KHUL J and BECKMAN J, Eds), pp 11–39.

  • Ajzen I (1991) Theory of planned behaviour. Organisational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50, 179–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albarracin D, Johnson BT, Fishbein M and Muellerleile PA (2001) Theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour as models of condom use: a meta analysis. Psychological Bulletin 127 (1), 142–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benbasat I and Moore GC (1992) Development of measures for studying emerging technologies. Proceedings of the 25 Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science, Vol. 4, Information Systems, pp 315–324, IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benbasat I and Zmud RW (1999) Empirical research in Information Systems: the practice of relevance. MIS Quarterly 23 (1), 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comscore Mobilens Service (2010) comScore Reports February 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share: Use of Social Media via Mobile Device Continues to Post Strong Gains [WWW document] http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/4/comScore_Reports_February_2010_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share (accessed 23 June 2010).

  • Darch H and Lucas T (2002) Training as e-commerce enabler. Journal of Workplace Learning 14 (4), 148–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis FD (1989) Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly 13 (3), 319–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dedrick J and West J (2003) Why firms adopt Open Source platforms: a grounded theory of innovation and standards adoption, standard making: a critical research frontier for information systems. MISQ Special Issue Workshop, 12–14 December, pp 236–257, Seattle.

  • Dedrick J and West J (2004) An exploratory study into Open Source platform adoption. Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences (HICSS'04)-Track 8, pp 1–10, p 80265b.

  • Eclipse Foundation (2009) A survey of the eclipse user community which supports both open source and proprietary software environments. [WWW document] http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/05/eclipse-survey-results-show-growth-in-linux-open-source.ars (accessed 23 June 2010).

  • Eisenhardt KM (1989) Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review 14 (4), 532–550.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein M and Ajzen I (1975) Belief, Attitude, Intentions and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Addison Wesley, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald B (2004) A critical look at Open Source. Computer 37 (7), 92–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald B and Kenny T (2003) Open Source Software in the trenches: lessons from a large-scale implementation. Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Information Systems, December 2003, pp 316–326, The Association for Information Systems, Seattle.

  • Forrester Consulting (2007) Open Source Software's expanding role in the enterprise. Helping Business Thrive on Technology Change. [WWW document] http://www.unisys.com/eprise/main/admin/corporate/doc/Forrester_research-open_source_buying_behaviors.pdf (accessed 8 June 2008).

  • Gable GG (1994) Integrating case study and survey research methods: an example in information systems. European Journal of Information Systems 3 (2), 112–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gélinas R and Bigras Y (2004) The characteristics and features of SMEs: favorable or unfavorable logistics integration. Journal of Small Business Management 42 (3), 263–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giera J (2004) The cost and risks of open source, helping business thrive on technology change. Best Practices – Forrester 2–14.

  • Glynn E, Fitzgerald B and Exton C (2005) Commercial adoption of Open Source Software: an empirical study. Proceedings of International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering, 17–18 November, p 10, IEEE Computer Society, Noosa Heads, Australia.

  • Hedberg H, Iivari N, Rajanen M and Harjumaa L (2007) Assuring quality and usability in Open Source Software development. First International Workshop on Emerging Trends in FLOSS Research and Development, 2007 (FLOSS '07) 20–26 May, pp 2–6, IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC, USA.

  • Hoepfl MC (1997) Choosing qualitative research: a primer for technology education researchers. Journal of Technology Education, 9(1), [WWW document] http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v9n1/hoepfl.html (accessed 8 June 2008).

  • Holck J, Larsen MH and Pedersen MK (2004) Identifying business barriers and enablers for the adoption of Open Source Software. Working paper 10, September, pp 1–15, ISD 2004, Vilnius, Lithuania.

  • Holck J, Larsen MH and Pedersen MK (2005) Managerial and technical barriers to the adoption of Open Source Software. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on COTS Based Software Systems, LNCS Vol.34, No.12, pp 289–300, Springer, Bilbao, Spain, February.

  • Houghton KA, Winklhofer H and Ennew C (2001) Factors affecting the adoption of the internet for global marketing in UK exporting SMEs: development of a conceptual model. Proceedings 30th EMAC Conference, pp 1–10, Bergen, Norway, 8–11 May.

  • Kshetri N (2004) Economics of Linux adoption in developing countries: developing with Open Source Software. IEEE Software 74–81.

  • Kuan KKY and Chau PYK (2001) A perception-based model for EDI adoption in small businesses using a technology organization environment framework. Information & Management 38, 507–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S and Krishnan MS (2005) Impact of Open Source Software adoption on firm IT expenditure. Workshop on Information Systems and Economics, pp 1–5, Irvine, CA.

  • Kwan SK and West J (2005) A conceptual model for enterprise adoption of Open Source Software. In The Standards Edge: Open Season (BOLIN S, Ed.), pp 1–14, Sheridan Books, Ann Arbor, MI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsen MH, Holck J and Pedersen MK (2004) The challenges of Open Source Software in IT adoption: enterprise architecture versus total cost of ownership. IRIS’27, August, pp 2–20, Falkenberg, Sweden. [WWW document] http://ir.lib.cbs.dk/download/ISBN/x65640946x.pdf (accessed 6 September 2008).

  • Liker JK and Sindi AA (1997) User acceptance of expert systems: a test of the Theory of Reasoned Action. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management 14, 147–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin L (2006) Impact of users’ expertise on the competition between proprietary and Open Source Software. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’06), 8, 4–7 January, p 166a, IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC, USA.

  • Lincoln YS and Guba EG (1985) Naturalistic Inquiry, Beverly Hills. Sage Publications, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mannaert H and Ven K (2005) The use of Open Source Software by independent software vendors: issues and opportunities. Open Source Application Spaces: International Conference on Software Engineering. Fifth Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering (WOSSE), 17 May, 2005, pp 1–4, ACM Press, New York, USA.

  • Martin L (2005) Internet adoption and use in small forms: internal processes, organisational culture and the roles of the owner-manager and key staff. New Technology, Work and Employment 20 (3), 190–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin LM and Matlay H (2003) Innovative use of the Internet in established small firms. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal 6 (1), 18–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayring P (2007) On generalization in qualitatively oriented research. Forum: Qualitative Social Research 8 (3), Article 26, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehrtens J, Cragg PB and Mills AM (2001) A model of Internet adoption by SMEs. Information and Management 39, 165–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikko V, Oksanen V and Laine J (2005) An empirical look at the problems of Open Source adoption in Finnish municipalities. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Electronic Commerce (ICEC '05), pp 514–520, ACM, New York, USA.

  • Miles MB and Huberman AM (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook 2nd edn, Sage, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mindel JL, Mui L and Verma S (2007) Open Source Software adoption in ASEAN member countries. Proceedings of the 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, (HICSS '07) 3–6 January, p 226b, IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC, USA.

  • Netcraft (2010) 2010 web server survey. [WWW document] http://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/ (accessed 23 June 2010).

  • Overby EM, Bharadwaj AS and Bharadwaj SG (2006) An investigation of firm-level Open Source Software adoption: theoretical and practical implications. In Open Source Software in Business – Issues and Perspectives (JAIN RK, Ed.), ICFAI University Press, Hyderabad, India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton MQ (1999) Enhancing quality and credibility of qualitative analysis. Health Services Research 34 (5), Part II, 1189–1208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers EM (1983) Diffusion of Innovations, 3rd edn, The Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers EM (1995) Diffusion of Innovations, 4th edn, The Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandelowski M (2000) Focus on research methods. Combining qualitative and quantitative sampling, data collection, and analysis techniques in mixed-method studies. Research in Nursing & Health 23, 246–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shih Y and Fang K (2004) The use of a decomposed-theory of planned behavior to study internet banking in Taiwan. Internet Research 14 (3), 213–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor M and Murphy A (2004) SMEs and e-business. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 11 (3), 280–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor S and Todd P (1995a) Decomposition and crossover effects in the theory of planned behavior: a study of consumer adoption intentions. International Journal of Research in Marketing 12, 137–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor S and Todd P (1995b) Understanding information technology usage: a test of competing models. Information Systems Research 6 (2), 144–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor S and Todd P (1995c) Assessing IT usage: the role of prior experience. MIS Quarterly 19 (4), 561–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkatesh V and Davis FD (2000) A theoretical extension of Technology Acceptance Model: four longitudinal field studies. Management Science 46 (2), 186–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkatesh V, Morris MG, Davis GB and Davis FD (2003) User acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly 27 (3), 425–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang H and Wang C (2001) Open Source Software adoption: a status report. IEEE Software 18 (2), 90–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler DA (2007) Why Open Source Software/Free Software (OSS/FS, FLOSS, or FOSS)? Look at the numbers!. [WWW document] http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html (accessed 5 May 2008).

  • Yamauchi Y, Yokozawa M, Shinohara T and Ishida T (2000) Collaboration with lean media: how Open-Source Software succeeds. In Proceedings of the 2000 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’00) pp 329–338, ACM, New York, USA.

  • Yin RK (1994) Case Study Research, Design and Methods, 2nd edn, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin RK (2003) Case Study Research, Design and Methods, 3rd edn, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics, Brunel University, U.K.

    Robert D Macredie & Kabiru Mijinyawa

Authors
  1. Robert D Macredie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kabiru Mijinyawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert D Macredie.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

D Macredie, R., Mijinyawa, K. A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs. Eur J Inf Syst 20, 237–250 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2010.60

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2010.60

Keywords

Search

Navigation