Institutional entrepreneurship, wikipedia, and the opportunity of the commons
用布卢明顿学派的制度分析与发展框架解释维基百科如何通过制度创业构建替代治理结构,成功管理自由百科全书文章这一公共资源,为理解制度创业在促进表达中的作用提供路线图。
Abstract Copyright laws traditionally attempt to incentivize expression and minimize free rider problems through legal restrictions, at the expense of closing off access to cultural history. However, entrepreneurial changes to institutions and the creation of alternative governance structures can allow for spaces that facilitate expression without resorting to the copyright approach. Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, stands as a highly visible example of such institutional entrepreneurship, leveraging copyright law against its intended purpose. This paper uses the Bloomington School's IAD framework to explain the success of Wikipedia's alternative model of managing a common resource of free encyclopedia articles, and suggests a roadmap for understanding the role of institutional entrepreneurship in crafting alternative governance structures to foster expression.