To me, it seems as less of a sociological anomaly and more of an example of the quality of production outside the established competitive norms of capitalism. There are multiple such examples throughout history. The gift economy wasn't born with FOSS development.
There is a lot of literature on the subject of cooperation, especially from anarchist philosophers (i.e. Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, Kropotkin).
There is a lot of literature on the subject of cooperation, especially from anarchist philosophers (i.e. Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, Kropotkin).