Building a better mousetrap does not assure you of success. Linux is not going to be successful because it can be installed on a machine with less memory than alternative OSes, or because it costs less than other OSes, or because it is more reliable. The forces that will ultimately drive the success or failure of the Linux OS work at a different level. That is the question. Open-source code is a feature.
Control is the benefit.
Every company wants control over their software, and the feature of Open Source is the best way the industry has found so far to achieve that benefit.