Context: Component-based software systems require decisions on component origins for acquiring components. A component origin is an alternative of where to get a component from. Objective: To identify factors that could influence the decision to choose among different component origins and solutions for decision-making (For example, optimization) in the literature. Method: A systematic review study of peer-reviewed literature has been conducted. Results: In total we included 24 primary studies. The component origins compared were mainly focused on in-house vs. COTS and COTS vs. OSS. We identified 11 factors affecting or influencing the decision to select a component origin. When component origins were compared, there was little evidence on the relative (either positive or negative) effect of a component origin on the factor. Most of the solutions were proposed for in-house vs. COTS selection and time, cost and reliability were the most considered factors in the solutions. Optimization models were the most commonly proposed technique used in the solutions. Conclusion: The topic of choosing component origins is a green field for research, and in great need of empirical comparisons between the component origins, as well of how to decide between different combinations of them. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.