Leveraging the Open Source Software Movement for Development of China's Software Industry

The software industries in developing countries face enormous challenges in order to grow amid fierce competition of imports from software manufacturers in developed countries. In this paper, using China as an example, we identify the issues that must be addressed for the software industry, as well as the special characteristics of software products that must be dealt with carefully. We propose promoting Open Source Software as a strategy the government should adopt to foster the software industry and we then recommend a course of actions. Copyright (c) 2005 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Information Technologies and International Development.