A Study on the Effect on Business Growth by Utilization and Contribution of Open Source Software

Abstract

Open Source Software (OSS) is the software of which source code is open to public, and then users can study and improve them corresponding to their needs. This study conducted the questionnaire survey to IT companies in Japan, investigating how OSS utilization and contribution to the development community affect the business growth of companies. The questionnaire survey was first implemented in 2012 and continued for 3 consecutive years until 2014. In order to analyze the transition of the OSS utilization, contribution, and company growth during these 3 years, t-test was employed to each of the average data. As the fourth report of the series of this study, we will present the results of the analysis and implications for the further research.