Vendor-led open source foundations are open source foundations led by software vendors rather than individual developers or end-user organizations. Our research investigates why vendors create or join such foundations, and how these foundations succeed. We conducted exploratory single-case study research, with the LF Edge foundation as our case. We collected qualitative data in the form of interviews and text documents, and performed qualitative data analysis for building our theory. We identified 18 motives of vendors’ participation in vendor-led open source foundations regarding four aspects: revenue, competition, productivity and innovation, and reputation. To understand how vendor-led open source foundations succeed, we investigated good practices followed by LF Edge applied as preventions for potential problems or solutions for encountered problems. We determined 52 good practices in 20 different contexts, focusing on three dimensions: governance, efficiency and productivity, and sustainability.

Context User-led open source (OS) consortia (foundations) consist of organizations from industries beyond the software industry collaborating to create open-source software solutions for their internal processes . Initially pioneered by higher education organizations in the 2000s, this concept has gained traction in recent years across various industries. Objective This study has two research objectives. The first objective is to provide an overview of the current state of the art in this field by identifying previously studied topics and gathering examples from different industries. The second objective is to understand the structure of user-led OS consortia and the motivations of organizations for participating in such consortia. Method To gain a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon, we conducted a systematic literature review, covering the years 2000 to 2023. Furthermore, we performed thematic analysis on 43 selected studies to identify and examine the key characteristics, ecosystems, and the benefits organizations gain from involvement in user-led OS consortia. Results We identified 43 unique papers on user-led OS consortia and provided details on 14 sample user-led OS consortia projects. We defined 19 characteristics of user-led OS consortia and 16 benefits for organizations’ involvement. Additionally, we outlined the key actors and their roles in user-led OS consortia. Conclusion We provided an overview of the current state of the art in this field. We identified the structure of user-led OS consortia and the organizations’ motivations for participating in such consortia.