The Emergence of an Organizational Field: The Case of Open Source Software

Abstract

The institutional theory perspective has been used to study organizations and organizational fields. In this paper, we use the perspective to examine the emergence of the organizational field of open source software as an alternate to the field of propriety software. We highlight the role of institutional entrepreneurs in initiating a wide variety of institutional work to redefine the norms in a field and change field boundaries that demarcate a new field from an old one. Based on the analysis of a narrative account of the open source software movement, we provide propositions that capture the dynamics between individuals and organizations in the emerging field and the old one that is challenged. The findings have implications for other industries dealing with information goods.