Psychological and Agentic Effects of Human-Bot Delegation in Open-Source Software Development (OSSD) Communities: An Empirical Investigation of Information Systems Delegation Framework

Authors

Spurthy DharanikotaFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Business Administration

First Advisor's Name

George M. Marakas

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Miguel Aguirre-Urreta

Second Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Pouyan Esmaielzadeh

Third Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Tala Mirzaei

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Fifth Advisor's Name

Mido Chang

Fifth Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Keywords

Open-source software development (OSSD), Kubernetes, bots, delegation, agentic AI, IS Delegation Framework, fit appraisal, coordination, performance, agentic coordination, implicit coordination, and explicit coordination

Date of Defense

6-6-2022

Abstract

Bots are agentic AI that automatically interact with software developers, also known as contributors, to coordinate work in open-source software development (OSSD). The proliferation of bots in OSSD communities like Kubernetes led them to become the disruptive new teammates central to the coordinating mechanisms for implementing source code changes using pull requests. These bots provide procedural rationality and enhance predictability in OSSD communities akin to clerks and managers in traditional organizations. However, despite acknowledging the criticality of the bots’ agentic role in coordinating the OSSD, research on the OSSD dynamics in the Information Systems literature has failed to reveal the role of bots on contributors’ behavioral outcomes.

Bot-driven OSSD communities serve as an excellent example of successful new forms of organizing that necessitate theoretical modeling of the human-bot collaboration, the central mechanism, enhancing contribution patterns, and the overall sustainability of the OSSD community. Using 289 survey responses from Kubernetes contributors, we empirically tested the model and identified the factors enabling contributors’ fit appraisal of collaborating with the bots. Contributors appraised adaptive and reliable bots that offered explainable feedback. Our findings highlight the role of contributors’ self-efficacy and their instrumentality in the project as the predictors of their fit appraisal. More importantly, the empirical results revealed the role of agentic coordination as the enabler of contributors’ satisfaction via explicit and implicit coordination mechanisms.

Furthermore, we find that contributors intend to continue contributing if satisfied with their contribution experience, leading to their commitment to the OSSD community. The model offers a more nuanced perspective of the human-bot collaboration in OSSD communities. A profound understanding of the dyadic delegation patterns, leading to contributor satisfaction, could inform researchers and practitioners in designing bots and OSSD platforms that ultimately enhance the contribution experiences, leading to their willingness to continue contributing to the OSSD community. Our results and discussion of findings offer actionable insights to enable bot design for optimal utilization in OSSD and other similar knowledge-intensive voluntary communities. The study findings offer implications for the future forms of organizing, the design of human-bot collaborative environments, and the sustainability and success of OSSD communities.

Identifier

FIDC010823

ORCID

0000-0002-0913-9098

Recommended Citation

Dharanikota, Spurthy, "Psychological and Agentic Effects of Human-Bot Delegation in Open-Source Software Development (OSSD) Communities: An Empirical Investigation of Information Systems Delegation Framework" (2022). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5116.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5116