Value-Mapping IT Platform Options in Global Health: A Multi-year Case of Code Rot versus the Event-Driven Outbreak Economy

This multi-year action research case study examines a global public health organization's efforts at innovation enabled by investments into an open source online IT platform. The case illustrates a core managerial challenge of balancing the tension between on-going maintenance and event-driven investments in an organization with few technology human resources internally. Using Fichman's (2004) framework for assessing real options of IT platform assessments, we identify the specific sources of value from such an investment in this organization, drawing out research and practice implications.