“openness” with and without information technology: a framework and a brief history
Schlagwein, Daniel ; Conboy, Kieran ; Feller, Joseph ; Leimeister, Jan Marco ; Morgan, Lorraine
Schlagwein, Daniel
Conboy, Kieran
Feller, Joseph
Leimeister, Jan Marco
Morgan, Lorraine
Repository DOI
Publication Date
2017-11-20
Keywords
openness, information technology, transparency, access, participation, democracy, open resources, open processes, open science, open source software development, concept development, framework, open source software, social media, knowledge creation, research agenda, innovation, science, collaboration, transparency, perspective, search
Type
Article
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Citation
Schlagwein, Daniel; Conboy, Kieran; Feller, Joseph; Leimeister, Jan Marco; Morgan, Lorraine (2017). “openness” with and without information technology: a framework and a brief history. Journal of Information Technology 32 (4), 297-305
Abstract
Over the past two decades, openness (e.g. 'open' innovation, 'open' education and 'open' strategy) has been of increasing interest for researchers and of increasing relevance to practitioners. Openness is often deeply embedded in information technology (IT) and can be both a driver for and a result of innovative IT. To clarify the concept of "openness'', we provide an overview of the scope of cross-disciplinary research on openness. Based on this overview, we develop a framework of openness, which proposes a higher-order concept of "openness'' characterised by transparency, access, participation and democracy. The framework further distinguishes open resources, open processes and the effects of opening on particular domains. To provide the historical context and to appreciate the role of IT in openness, we discuss two historical examples of openness: the introduction of an open science model in academia (openness without IT) and the emergence of open source software development (openness with IT). We conclude by highlighting some concerns with and limitations of "openness''.
Funder
Publisher
Springer Nature
Publisher DOI
10.1057/s41265-017-0049-3
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland