Learning and Open Source Software License Choice
研究了开源软件项目如何通过经验学习和替代学习来选择许可证，发现经验学习比替代学习更有效，且项目领导角色和项目相似性分别调节这两种学习方式。
ABSTRACT Licensing is the defining characteristic of open source software (OSS) and often has tremendous impact on the success of OSS projects. However, OSS licenses are very different from those for proprietary software, and our understanding of the choice of OSS licenses is very limited. In this study, we explore this important decision from a learning perspective. We build collaboration networks and trace paths through which potential learning and knowledge flow across projects using a dataset derived from SourceForge. We identify that both experiential learning and vicarious learning have significant influence on OSS license choice. We provide reasons why experiential learning and vicarious learning affect decision‐making regarding OSS license choice, and explore important contingencies under which the two modes of learning are more effective. We find that leadership roles on prior projects and similarities between projects significantly moderate these two modes of learning, respectively. More importantly, we argue and empirically illustrate that experiential learning is more effective than vicarious learning in influencing OSS license choice. Our research sheds new light on our understanding of license choice for OSS projects and provides practical guidelines for future OSS development.