Determinants of Participation in Global Volunteer Grids: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract

Volunteer Grids, in which users share computing resources altruistically, play a critical role in fostering research. Sharing and collaboration in Volunteer Grids is determined by many factors. These determinants define the participation in Grids and the amount of contribution to such Grids. Whereas previous studies focused on explaining researchers and countries willingness to share resources in Volunteer Grids based on social sharing theory, this research argues that without the appropriate technological capabilities, countries or researcher cannot implement their willingness. Based on the literature review, this paper defines the influential determinants for participating in global Volunteer Grids. Besides, this research employs a multiple regression analysis of these determinants, using a total of 130 observations collected from international data repositories. Our results show that R&D and Internet connection type (broadband or dial-up) are significant determinates for participating in Volunteer Grids. This result explains why developed countries are active and enjoy the benefits from Volunteer Grids, while developing countries still lag behind. Therefore, an increased participation in Grids cannot be solely achieved by interconnecting with developing countries through high-speed Internet backbones.