OpenSym Poster: How much are digital platforms based on open collaboration?

From the early cases of FLOSS and Wikipedia, the digital collaborative model

of production and consumption has rapidly expanded to other spheres. This

article explores to what extent this expansion has maintained the open

character of the initial model, specifically the extent to which platform

projects follow an open collaborative approach in their technological and

knowledge policies and practices, and if this is also reflected in an open

approach to governance. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 100

cases in Barcelona. On the basis of this analysis, we conclude that open

modalities of collaborative digital platforms are not prevalent. Around a third

of the sample present open modalities of the dimensions analyzed. Different

areas —technological, knowledge, or governance— showed different levels

of diffusion of open practices. The cases which tended to be open in one

dimension also tended to be open in the other dimensions. That is, the

analysis points to a correlation between technological, data, and knowledge

policies and open and democratic collaborative economy models. These

results suggest the importance of open technology and knowledge in

adopting an open and democratic collaborative model.