Geoff Breach

Breach, G. 2008, 'Computer programmers as volunteer workers: The case of the free and open source software movement', The International Employment Relations Review, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 63-75.
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The primary benefit of free and open source computer software to the community and not-for-profit sectors lies in the fact that it is almost always completely free of both charge and administrative encumbrance. A more detailed analysis of the context in which the software is created exposes an even greater relevance to the human resource and third sector management however - the individuals who create this software are volunteers. This paper introduces free and open source software, highlights the key technical and social factors that make it so interesting to the human resource management context, and applies the Levy (2006) framework to correlate the production of open source computer software with the Volunteering Australia definition of volunteering.

Breach, G. & Jenkins, R.J. 2007, 'A New Approach to the Process of Identifying Lead Users in Open Source Software Communities', Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Sydney, Australia, December 2007 in Proceedings of the 21st ANZAM 2007 Conference: Managing Our Intellectual and Social Capital, ed Chapman, R, Promaco, Western Australia, pp. 1-13.
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This paper presents a methodology that is designed to improve upon established approaches to the identification of lead users amongst communities of end users. While it is clear that organisations can benefit by applying the lead user method an approach that recognises that certain end users of products are a valuable source and in some industries the only source of new product innovations, the process has been criticised for it's resource intensive nature. The individuals who author Open Source Software (OSS) complex and high-quality computer software that is typically distributed free of charge and without restrictions on use appear to share many common characteristics with Eric von Hippel's (2005) lead users. These skilled computer programmers develop their software collaboratively, and often form large communities that congregate in Internet 'chat rooms' to discuss and manage their software development projects. In response to a call for further research to improve the performance of the lead user method, this paper integrates concepts from the fields of innovation management, data visualisation and open source software to construct a process designed to improve the process of identifying lead users in OSS communities.

Jenkins, R.J. & Breach, G. 2006, 'Automating the detection of turning points: inventory control at ComputerShop', Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Yeppoon, Australia, December 2006 in Management: Pragmatism, Philosophy, Priorities - Proceedings of the 20th ANZAM Conference, ed Kennedy, J; Di Milia, L, ANZAM, Sydney, Australia, pp. 1-16.
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Jenkins, R.J. & Breach, G. 2005, 'Strategy and supply chain management: the website as a distinctive competence', Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Yeppoon, Australia, June 2005 in Managing, Value Adding and the Supply Chain: Challenges and Opportunities - Proceedings of the 3rd Annual ANZAM Operations Management Symposium, ed Hyland, P; Stewart, G, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia, pp. 148-156.
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Jenkins, R.J. & Breach, G. 2004, 'Beer distribution game: a simulation using Java agents and MySQL', Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Melbourne, Australia, June 2004 in Proceedings of the ANZAM 2004 Operations Management Symposium: "Operations Management: Global Challenges and Local Applications", ed Power, D, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 1-11.
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Jenkins, R.J., Breach, G. 2004, 'Complex supply chains: analysis of a beer distribution game simulation output', Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand, December 2004 in 18th Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management: "People First - Serving our Stakeholders", ed Elkin, G, ANZAM, Sydney, pp. 1-17.
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