Everything about Proprietary software

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

1. Read the overview: Proprietary softwareA 5-minute orientation
2. Skim a recent paper: Toward Proprietary Software Ecosystem Governance Strategies Based on Health MetricsInfluential work since 2022
3. Pick up a classic book: Alice's Adventures in WonderlandThe most-reprinted book on the subject
4. Read the landmark paper: Research Note —Lock-In Strategy in Software Competition: Open-Source Software vs. Proprietary SoftwareCited 67 times
5. Go sideways: Commercial softwareA closely related topic
6. Go sideways: Free softwareA closely related topic

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

• Research Note —Lock-In Strategy in Software Competition: Open-Source Software vs. Proprietary Software

  Kevin Xiaoguo Zhu, Zach Zhizhong Zhou · 2012 · Information Systems Research · 67 citations

• A Strategic Analysis of Competition Between Open Source and Proprietary Software

  Ravi Sen · 2007 · Journal of Management Information Systems · 66 citations

• Proprietary versus public domain licensing of software and research products

  Alfonso Gambardella, Bronwyn H. Hall · 2006 · Research Policy · 56 citations

• ERP for SMEs – is proprietary software an alternative?

  Kai A. Olsen, Per Sætre · 2007 · Business Process Management Journal · 44 citations

• The Impact of Open Source Software on the Strategic Choices of Firms Developing Proprietary Software

  Jeevan Jaisingh, Eric W. K. See-To, Kar Yan Tam · 2008 · Journal of Management Information Systems · 35 citations

• Adoption of open‐source software versus proprietary software: An exploratory study

  Swati Dhir, Sanjay Dhir · 2017 · Strategic Change · 29 citations

• When to make proprietary software open source

  Jonathan P. Caulkins, Gustav Feichtinger, Dieter Grass · 2013 · Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control · 24 citations

• On the challenges of open-sourcing proprietary software projects

  Gustavo Pinto, Igor Steinmacher, Luiz Felipe Dias · 2018 · Empirical Software Engineering · 24 citations

🆕 Influential since 2022

• Toward Proprietary Software Ecosystem Governance Strategies Based on Health Metrics

  Luiz Alexandre Costa, Awdren Fontao, Rodrigo Santos · 2022 · IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management · 18 citations

• Impact of Competition from Open Source Software on Proprietary Software

  Zach Zhizhong Zhou, Vidyanand Choudhary · 2022 · Production and Operations Management · 12 citations

• <b>OPEN SOURCE VS. PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE</b>

  Anthony Santos Batista · 2026 · Journal International Review of Research Studies · 6 citations

• Open-Source and Proprietary Library Automation Software: A Comparative Academic Librarian's Perspective

  M. Shoaib Ul Hassan, Aamir Hamid, Dr. Naimat Ullah Shah · 2022 · Journal of Information Management and Practices · 6 citations

• An Analysis and Comparison of Proprietary and Open-Source Software for Building E-commerce Website: A Case Study

  Eric B. Blancaflor, Sasky A. Samonte · 2023 · Journal of Advances in Information Technology · 6 citations

📚 Books worth reading

• Alice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll · 1865
• Technical CommunicationJohn M. Lannon · 2000
• Open Sources 2.0Chris DiBona, Mark Stone · 2005
• International Directory of Company HistoriesJay P. Pederson · 2009
• International Directory of Company HistoriesTina Grant · 2011
• International Directory of Company HistoriesDrew D. Johnson · 2011
• International Directory of Company HistoriesTina Grant · 2009
• Service-Oriented Computing and System IntegrationYinong Chen · 2017

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

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