ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a cross-level model to explain the relationship between social capital in Open source software (OSS) communities and individual motivation and contribution. Cross-level theories describe 'the relationship between independent and dependent variables at different levels' and they are commonly used to describe the impact of group or organizational factors on individual behaviour and attitudes. It discusses how community-level social capital can be created and maintained as a by-product of ongoing activities within an OSS community. Community-level social capital, as a valuable resource shared by community members, is assumed to provide direct information, control, and solidarity benefits to the OSS community as a whole, facilitating the software development process. Social capital is the community-level construct, and individual motivation and contribution are individual-level constructs. Leaders or project managers should strive to create a community environment with a high level social capital, which will keep developers motivated to produce high-quality software.
