Deconstructing written rules and hierarchy in peer produced software communities

TL;DR

This paper uses NLP and institutional analysis to examine authority structures in ASF's written policies, revealing a complex mix of flat and bureaucratic governance that challenges traditional hierarchical models in open-source communities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of computational analysis to understand governance structures in peer-produced software communities, highlighting their hybrid nature.

Findings

Evidence of both flat and bureaucratic governance in ASF

Reveals complex relationship between traditional hierarchy and OSS principles

Challenges conventional business-based theories of organizational structure

Abstract

We employ recent advances in computational institutional analysis and NLP to investigate the systems of authority that are reflected in the written policy documents of the ASF. Our study to decipher the effective similarities or departures of the ASF model from conventional software companies reveals evidence of both flat and bureaucratic governance in a peer production set up, suggesting a complicated relationship between business-based theories of administrative hierarchy and foundational principles of the OSS movement.