the most prominent example of a new form of enterprise
whose contributors and users have been increasing
dramatically. This innovation goes beyond Wikipedia
and involves projects such as Linux, Apache, Eclipse,
OpenStreetMap, and RepRap. We call this new form
a ‘Community Enterprise’ (CE). Some of these enterprises
are considerably large: A thousand individuals
work on the Linux kernel and tens of thousands
contribute to Wikipedia.1
The general characteristic of CEs is that they are
private organizations that produce public goods
entailing a new production process in a barrier-free
social community. They contribute to the economy not
only through the utility value of the goods they produce,
such as an encyclopedia, Web server software, or a
geographical database. More importantly, they enable
further innovation by contributing to an economic
ecosystem that is open to everyone. This community is
organized in a polycentric, overlapping way with selfdefined
rules. It is designed to prevent anyone, including
the community itself, from gaining control over the
resources it develops.