Open Source Software Development Communities Research Articles

A case study of a knowledge worker team in a virtual community

In a quest to bring out the workings of a knowledge worker team in a virtual community, a novel virtual community is discovered - the federal virtual community (FVC). Unlike conventional centralised virtual communities, FVC adopts a distributed community structure. Ourinet, an open source software development community and an FVC, is examined to uncover the strengths of an FVC and what it takes to ensure the quality of project output from members. The activities of a virtual community and the characteristics of a knowledge worker team are first summarised from literature, then a conceptual model that signifies the relationship of these two constructs is proposed for examination. With the findings of the case analysis, the model is further modified. The model infers that advanced communication mechanisms are not sufficient in operating such a virtual community. Clear positioning and its continuing adjustment is the key to sustain the community's growth. Also, occasional effective face-to-face communication and formal legal contracts from the physical world are necessary in assuring good output quality.