In short, there isn't a standard, universally agreed definition, but there's a common pattern in:
- the definition I used ("a for-profit organization whose core practices are guided by principles of openness, transparency and interoperability. This philosophy can be summarized by the maxim: Share as much as possible, charge as little as possible.")
- the Open Company Initiative (http://opencompany.org) definition: "Companies committed to openness as a defining element in how [they] create value."
- the Wikipedia definition (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_business): "an approach to enterprise that draws on ideas from openness movements like free software, open source, open content and open tools and standards. The approach places value on transparency, stakeholder inclusion, and accountability."
- the P2P Foundation definition (http://p2pfoundation.net/Open_Business): "a business that operates around the principles that are similar to those of the free software and open source movements, i.e. with 'free' and 'open' content."
Let me know if my synthesis (the first definition above) seems innacurate or incomplete.
Unfortunately, the model they've chosen for building up the directory is based on a specific pledge taken by the companies themselves, which makes community participation in expanding the list pretty much impossible (https://github.com/opencompany/www.opencompany.org/issues/10...)
So I decided to follow the example of the many awesome-x lists that have been sprouting up lately, and start a community-curated one for open companies, too. The list is by no means complete, so feel free to contribute your knowledge of open companies or other related resources that you think should be there.
