Risk Factors of the Partner Relationship between Open Source ERP Editors and IT Services Companies

Abstract

The open source ERP systems are beginning to take a significant market share of ERP in SMEs. They are<br />supported and developed by several actors: open source editors and communities. The purpose of this study is to<br />examine the risk factors in the relationship of open source ERP editors and their partners (i.e., the information<br />technology (IT) services companies). Three exploratory case studies on partnership relations between ERP editors<br />and IT services companies are carried out by relying on a qualitative method of collecting and analyzing data. The<br />results show the existence of several of risks in such a relationship: the risk of fork, the risk of opportunistic<br />behavior, the risk of conflict, the risk of absorption, the risk of non-appropriation, and finally the risk differences of<br />objectives. These results confirm the risk factors already found in the literature in strategic alliances. This research<br />is based on a qualitative approach, therefore reducing its generalization. In terms of managerial implications, this<br />research creates awareness among leaders of IT services companies, who wish to become a partner of ERP open<br />source editor, to the risks involved in such collaboration. Open source Software and particularly open source<br />ERP systems are a modern phenomenon. This paper examines the relationship between open source ERP editors<br />and their partners in terms of risk, whereas the literature on risk factors focuses only in the world of proprietary<br />software (or commercial)

Risk Framework for Open Source Applications Using Agent Oriented Modelling

“…Some examples of risk that organizations face when adopting OSS solutions are cost of adoption, compatibility and trialability and risk involving availability of support from a third party vendor [13]. Other risk impact factors also include project size, organizational impact, and complexity of project dependencies within an organization and technological compatibilities and architectures [2], [14].…”