A Systematic Literature Review on Trust in the Software Ecosystem

TL;DR

This paper systematically reviews trust in the global software ecosystem, defining trust, proposing a theoretical framework, and identifying key trust factors affecting relationships among users, products, organizations, and engineers.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive definition of trust in the software ecosystem and introduces a theoretical framework and trust factors for understanding software trust.

Findings

Provides a clear definition of trust in the software ecosystem

Develops a theoretical framework for trust analysis

Lists key trust factors influencing software relationships

Abstract

We conduct a systematic literature review on the concept of trust in the worldwide software ecosystem. We acknowledge that trust is something between two actors in the software ecosystem, and we examine what role trust plays in the relationships between end-users and (1) software products, (2) package managers, (3) software producing organizations, and (4) software engineers. Two major findings emerged from the systematic literature review. To begin, we provide a definition of trust in the software ecosystem, including a theoretical framework that decomposes and signifies a theoretical understanding of trust. Second, we provide a list of trust factors that can be used to assemble an overview of software trust.