For Open Source Developers, Showing Technical Skill Online Is Linked to Promotion

Open source software developers do much of their work in public. Code, commit histories, and contributions sit on platforms where anyone can see them. Those same platforms let others endorse a developer or write a recommendation. A study in the Journal of Management Information Systems asks a practical question. Does this visibility help developers get promoted, and does the type of skill on display matter?

The authors are Renzhi Zhao, Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics at McCoy College of Business, who goes by Fred; Sherae L. Daniel of the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati; and Likoebe M. Maruping of the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.

Two kinds of skill, two ways to be seen

Digital platforms make skills visible in two ways. A developer can display technical ability directly, through repositories, contributions, and listed competencies. A developer can also receive endorsements and recommendations from others, which speak to both technical and interpersonal skills such as collaboration and communication.

The researchers draw on a framework from sociologist Ralph Turner that describes two paths to advancement. Under contest mobility, people compete openly and win on demonstrated performance. Under sponsored mobility, established insiders select and endorse those who advance. The study treats self-displayed technical skill as the contest path and recommendations from others as the sponsored path.

The study

The researchers examined a sample of 269 open source software developers. They measured how visible each developer’s technical and interpersonal skills were through platform features, and whether the developer received a job promotion.

What the researchers found

Technical and interpersonal skills did not behave the same way. When a developer made technical skills visible on digital platforms, that visibility was associated with job promotion. For interpersonal skills, the route was different. Their effect on promotion came through recommendations from other people, not through the developer’s own display.

In plain terms, a developer can make the case for technical ability alone. The case for people skills needs someone else to make it.

What it means for managers

For hiring managers and team leads, the finding is a guide to reading digital profiles. A strong public record of technical work is a meaningful signal that the developer produced it. Claims about teamwork and communication carry less weight on their own. Recommendations from collaborators fill that gap.

For developers, the lesson is to invest in both channels. Keep technical work public and current. Also build relationships that lead to recommendations, since that is how interpersonal skill becomes visible in a way that counts.

For firms that depend on open source talent, the study suggests promotion decisions already lean on platform data. Making that reliance deliberate, and checking that both kinds of signal are weighed, is a reasonable next step.

This summary is based on the paper’s abstract. The full article reports the data, methods, and detailed results.

What it means for managers

• Technical skills pay off when the developer shows them. Making code and technical ability visible on platforms is associated with promotion.
• Interpersonal skills need a witness. Their effect on promotion runs through recommendations from others, not through self-presentation.
• Managers should read profiles with this split in mind. Self-reported technical work and third-party endorsements of people skills are different signals, and both matter.

Daniel, S. L., Zhao, R., & Maruping, L. M. (2025). Digital skill visibility and job promotion of open source software developers. Journal of Management Information Systems, 42(3), 926-950. 10.1080/07421222.2025.2520171