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Brokerage, Boundary Spanning, and Leadership in Open Innovation Communities

Morgan Hall 485, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts 02163
Robert H. Smith School of Business, 4515 Van Munching Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-1815
lfleming{at}hbs.edu
dwaguesp{at}rhsmith.umd.edu

What types of human and social capital identify the emergence of leaders of open innovation communities? Consistent with the norms of an engineering culture, we find that future leaders must first make strong technical contributions. Beyond technical contributions, they must then integrate their communities in order to mobilize volunteers and avoid the ever-present danger of forking and balkanization. This is enabled by two correlated but distinct social positions: social brokerage and boundary spanning between technological areas. An inherent lack of trust associated with brokerage positions can be overcome through physical interaction. Boundary spanners do not suffer this handicap and are much more likely than brokers to advance to leadership. The research separates the influence of human and social capital on promotion, and highlights previously unexamined differences between brokerage- and boundary-spanning positions. Longitudinal analyses of careers within the Internet Engineering Task Force community from 1986–2002 support the arguments.

Key Words: brokerage; leadership; open source; careers; social networks

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