--- a/m4/init-package-version.m4
+++ b/m4/init-package-version.m4
@@ -82,9 +82,9 @@
     [AC_SUBST([PACKAGE], [$1])
      AC_SUBST([VERSION], [$2])
     ])
   m4_define([AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE],
     m4_defn([gl_RPL_INIT_AUTOMAKE]))
 ])
-m4_define([gl_INIT_DUMMY], [])
+m4_define([gl_INIT_DUMMY], [dummy])
 AC_DEFUN([gl_RPL_INIT_AUTOMAKE], [
   m4_ifval([$2],