OPEN-INNOVATION AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE PROJECTS: CHALLENGES AND ROLE OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT

In the recent decade, open innovation (OI) has attracted much attention within the field of innovation management research. Now, most of the firms are adopting OI practices to expedite the performance. However, open-source software projects are facing crucial challenges such as motivating spillovers (MS), incorporation of external knowledge (EK), intellectual property (IP) management, and maximization of internal innovation (II). Additionally, open-source software projects are facing the major issue of financial constraint (FC) to develop and maintain the OI system. To address this issue, the prime objective of the current study is to inspect the role of FC during the management of OI challenges in Pakistan. To accomplish this objective, this study adopted a quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional research design. Survey questionnaires were distributed among the managerial employees of open-source software projects via a mail survey. SMART-PLS 3 (SEM) was utilized to conduct the analysis. The study revealed that FC is a moderating variable between the maximization of II and OI performance. FC is one of the limiting factors towards the maximization of II which automatically decreases the OI performance. Hence, the current study contributed by investigating the role of FC in OI practices. Therefore, this study is beneficial for open-source software developers to enhance OI.