The impacts of lockdown on open source software contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic instigated widespread lockdowns, compelling millions to transition to work-from-home (WFH) arrangements and rely heavily on computer-mediated communications (CMC) for collaboration. This study examines the impacts of lockdown on innovation-driven work productivity, focusing on contributions to open source software (OSS) projects on GitHub, the world's largest OSS platform. By leveraging two lockdowns in China as natural experiments, we discover that developers in the 2021 Xi'an lockdown increased OSS contributions by 9.0 %, while those in the 2020 Wuhan lockdown reduced their contributions by 10.5 %. A subsequent survey study elucidates this divergence, uncovering an adaptation effect wherein Xi'an developers became more accustomed to the new norm of WFH over time, capitalizing on the flexibility and opportunities of remote work. Moreover, our findings across both lockdowns reveal that the lack of face-to-face (F2F) interactions significantly impeded OSS contributions, whereas the increased available time at home positively influenced them. This finding is especially noteworthy as it challenges the assumption that CMC can effortlessly substitute for F2F interactions without negatively affecting productivity. We further examine the impacts of stay-at-home orders in the United States (US) on OSS contributions and find no significant effects. Collectively, our research offers valuable insights into the multifaceted impacts of lockdown on productivity, shedding light on how individuals adapt to remote work norms during protracted disruptions like a pandemic. These insights provide various stakeholders, including individuals, organizations, and policymakers, with vital knowledge to prepare for future disruptions, foster sustainable resilience, and adeptly navigate the evolving landscape of remote work in a post-pandemic world.