Knowledge sharing intention in open source software communities: A configurational perspective

Knowledge sharing (KS) activities are fundamental to the prosperity of open source software (OSS) communities. Although prior research identifies the factors influencing KS in communities, understanding of the interactions among these factors is limited, prompting us to explore these interactions from a configurational perspective. We constructed a model of factors influencing the KS intention in OSS communities by introducing the Wuli-Shili-Renli systems approach. Then, we investigated the impact of different combinations of factors on KS intention in OSS communities by analyzing 148 questionnaire case samples using a configurational approach, that is, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. By embracing causal complexity explicitly, this study reveals three key findings. First, a single factor does not constitute a necessary condition to foster high KS intention within OSS communities. Second, three distinct pathways, that is, geek spirit (GS)-dominant, technical support (TS)-altruism collaborative, and GS-reputation collaborative pathways, significantly enhance the high-level KS intention. Finally, GS, TS, and altruism exhibit significant effects. This study provides recommendations for OSS community managers and realizes KS in OSS communities by offering a novel perspective.