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Computer Science > Computers and Society

arXiv:cs/0612071 (cs)
[Submitted on 14 Dec 2006]

Title:Why is Open Access Development so Successful? Stigmergic organization and the economics of information

Authors:Francis Heylighen
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Abstract: The explosive development of "free" or "open source" information goods contravenes the conventional wisdom that markets and commercial organizations are necessary to efficiently supply products. This paper proposes a theoretical explanation for this phenomenon, using concepts from economics and theories of self-organization. Once available on the Internet, information is intrinsically not a scarce good, as it can be replicated virtually without cost. Moreover, freely distributing information is profitable to its creator, since it improves the quality of the information, and enhances the creator's reputation. This provides a sufficient incentive for people to contribute to open access projects. Unlike traditional organizations, open access communities are open, distributed and self-organizing. Coordination is achieved through stigmergy: listings of "work-in-progress" direct potential contributors to the tasks where their contribution is most likely to be fruitful. This obviates the need both for centralized planning and for the "invisible hand" of the market.
Subjects: Computers and Society (cs.CY); Digital Libraries (cs.DL); Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
Report number: ECCO Working Paper 2006-06
Cite as: arXiv:cs/0612071 [cs.CY]
  (or arXiv:cs/0612071v1 [cs.CY] for this version)
  https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.cs/0612071
Journal reference: in: B. Lutterbeck, M. Baerwolff & R. A. Gehring (eds.), Open Source Jahrbuch 2007, Lehmanns Media, 2007

Submission history

From: Francis Heylighen [view email]
[v1] Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:15:49 UTC (226 KB)
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