A business model for commercial open source software: A systematic literature review

Context Commercial open source software (COSS) and community open source software (OSS) are two types of open source software. The former is the newer concept with the grounds for research such as business model. However, in the literature of open source software, the revenue model has been studied as a business model, which is one component of the business model. Therefore, there is a need for a more complete review of the COSS business model with all components. Objective: The purpose of this research is to describe and present the COSS business model with all its components. Method: A systematic literature review of the COSS business model was conducted and 1157 studies were retrieved through search in six academic databases. The result of the process of selecting the primary studies was 21 studies. By backward snowballing, we discovered 10 other studies, and thus a total of 31 studies were found. Then, the grounded theory coding procedures were used to determine the characteristics and components of the COSS business model. Results: The COSS business model was presented with value proposition, value creation & delivery, and value capture. This business model includes eight components: COSS products and complementarities, COSS clients and users, COSS competitive strategies, organizational aspects of COSS, position of COSS producers in the value network, resources and capabilities of COSS business, COSS revenue sources, and COSS cost-benefit. Conclusion: This study provides a complete illustration of the COSS business model. Identifies COSS generic competitive strategies. By cost-benefit component, we have considered both tangible and intangible components. This business model is especially effective in developing countries. In future research, it is necessary to review the management of the COSS community, the organization, the new revenue models for disruptive ability of open source software, and the localization of open source software.