Managing Code Debt in Open Source Software Development Projects: A Digital Options Perspective

In this study, we examine the impact of three commonly used digital options on the accumulation of code debt in open source software development (OSSD) projects. Further, we examine the impact of code debt on three measures of OSSD project performance. Specifically, we hypothesize that increased use of defer options and abandon options is negatively related to the accumulation of code debt, while increased use of growth options is positively related to the accumulation of code debt. Further, we hypothesize that while the accumulation of code debt is negatively related to a project's market success and the engagement of peripheral developers, it is positively related to the engagement of core developers. To test our hypotheses, we plan to collect and analyze project data from a leading OSSD platform. We expect our findings to provide new theoretical perspectives for researchers and actionable insights for software practitioners.