Gestion de l'innovation:quels enseignements tirer du cas des logiciels libres?

In the software industry, the attested success of the free softwares leads us to wonder about the specificity of the innovative model, which developed them. This one presents real original aspects at the organizational level as well as at the strategic one. The aim of this article is first to define this innovative model with precision then to discuss its alleged novelty. The latter is particularly discussed thanks to the mobilization of several theories of the management of innovation and the informal trans-actions theory.