Institutional complexity and governance in open-source ecosystems: A case study of the oil and gas industry

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in open-source innovation and collaborative software development ecosystems in recent years, particularly in industries dominated by intellectual property and proprietary practices. However, consortiums engaged in these collaborative efforts often face difficulties in effectively balancing the competing dynamics of trust and power. Collaborative knowledge creation is pivotal in ensuring long-term sustainability of the ecosystem; knowledge sharing can take place by steering trust judgments toward fostering reciprocity. Drawing on a longitudinal case study of the Open Subsurface Data Universe ecosystem, we investigate the intricate interplay between trust and power and its pivotal influence on ecosystem governance. Our investigation charts the trajectory of trust and power institutionalization and reveals how it synergistically contributes to the emergence of comprehensive hybrid governance strategies. We make the following two contributions to extant research. First, we elucidate a perspective on the conceptual interplay between power and trust, conceiving these notions as mutual substitutes and complements. Together, they synergistically foster the institutionalization and dynamic governance processes in open-source ecosystems. Second, we contribute to the governance literature by emphasizing the significance of viewing governance as a configuration of institutionalization processes and highlighting the creation of hybrid forms of governance in complex innovation initiatives.