National Financial Status as a Predictor of Innovation in Crowdsourcing Platforms: The Case of GitHub

This study investigates the global impact of Open-Source Software (OSS) participation, with a focus on the economic dynamics at the country level. We introduce a theoretical model based on resource availability and opportunity costs to explain the varying degrees of OSS engagement across countries with different income levels. Our findings suggest that middle-income countries are optimally positioned to benefit from OSS due to a favorable balance between available resources for initiating IT projects and lower opportunity costs compared to low and high-income countries. This balance facilitates a higher rate of IT project initiation on platforms like GitHub. The implications of our research indicate that targeted policy interventions aimed at enhancing resource availability in low-income countries and reducing opportunity costs in high-income settings could significantly boost global OSS participation. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how economic conditions influence OSS engagement and offers strategic insights for leveraging OSS for economic development across diverse income landscapes.