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1 – 10 of over 3000Zhongzhi Liu, Fujun Lai and Qiaoyi Yin
As the application of crowdsourcing contests grows, leveraging the participation of superstars (i.e. solvers who have outstanding performance records in a crowdsourcing platform…
Abstract
Purpose
As the application of crowdsourcing contests grows, leveraging the participation of superstars (i.e. solvers who have outstanding performance records in a crowdsourcing platform) becomes an emergent approach for managers to solve crowdsourced problems. Although much is known about superstars’ performance implications, it remains unclear whether and how their participation affects the size of a contest crowd for a crowdsourcing contest. Based on social contagion theory, this paper aims to examine the impact of superstars’ participation on the crowd size and studies how this impact varies across solvers with different heterogeneity in terms of skills, exposure and cultural proximity with superstars in crowdsourcing contests.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses secondary data from one crowdsourcing platform that includes 6,587 innovation contests to examine superstars’ main and contextual effects on the crowd size of a contest.
Findings
Our results reveal that superstars’ participation positively affects the crowd size of a contest in general. This finding suggests that social contagion is a fundamental mechanism underlying crowd formation in crowdsourcing contests. Our results also indicate that in contests that involve multiple superstars, superstars’ effect on crowd size becomes negative when we simultaneously consider other solvers’ heterogeneity in terms of skills, exposure and cultural background, and this negative effect will be intensified by increases in the skill gap, extent of exposure and cultural proximity between superstars and other solvers in the same contest.
Originality/value
Our research enhances the understanding of the influence of superstars and the mechanism underlying the emergence of contest crowds in crowdsourcing contests and contributes knowledge to better understand social contagion in a competitive setting. The results are meaningful for sourcing managers and platform supervisors to design contests and supervise crowd size in crowdsourcing contests.
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Introduction – In the twenty-first century, which is the age of communication and information, the time and space concepts have changed with new media technologies and changes…
Abstract
Introduction – In the twenty-first century, which is the age of communication and information, the time and space concepts have changed with new media technologies and changes have occurred in habits and ways of doing business using the Internet. In this respect, crowdsourcing concept comes first among the new applications with which internet users can share content. The crowdsourcing, which may be understood as ‘mass-based work’ or ‘crowded resource’, consists of a combination of ‘crowd’ and ‘source’, and refers to the use of a great number of human societies to do a common work. The crowdsourcing concept, used commonly as of the 2000s for different purposes, is included in the literature as a concept showing the power of crowds. It is a method in which communication and internet technologies are used with efficacy in the advertising and marketing fields.
Purpose – The objective of the present study is to determine the pros and cons of the crowdsourcing concept through new media applications in the form of critical evaluations by examining sample case studies that use the crowdsourcing concept, which is becoming widespread in Turkey and in the whole world in recent years.
Methodology – In this study, the ‘Case (Sample Event) Study Analysis’, which is one of the qualitative research methods and which is a methodological approach that includes examining how the crowdsourcing system works in-depth, will be used.
Findings – Crowdsourcing is becoming a worldwide business model and allows anyone with free time and an internet connection to contribute to economic productivity. This study has discussed the importance of crowdsourcing for companies in contextual terms and has made predictions on how to make this concept become a better model in which fields.
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The need to digitise is an awareness that is shared across our community globally, and yet the probability of the intersection between resources, expertise and institutions are…
Abstract
Purpose
The need to digitise is an awareness that is shared across our community globally, and yet the probability of the intersection between resources, expertise and institutions are not as prospective. A strategic view towards the long-term goal of cultivating and digitally upskilling the younger generation, building a community and creating awareness with digital activities that can be beneficial for cultural heritage is necessary.
Design/methodology/approach
The work involves distributing tasks between stakeholders and local volunteers. It uses close-range photogrammetry for reconstructing the entire heritage site in 3D, and outlines achievable digitisation activities in the crowdsourced, close-range photogrammetry of a 19th century Cheah Kongsi clan temple located in George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Penang, Malaysia.
Findings
The research explores whether loosely distributing photogrammetry work that partially simulates an unorganised crowdsourcing activity can generate complete models of a site that meets the criteria set by the needs of the clan temple. The data acquired were able to provide a complete visual record of the site, but the 3D models that was generated through the distributed task revealed gaps that needed further measurements.
Practical implications
Key lessons learned in this activity is transferable. Furthermore, the involvement of volunteers can also raise awareness of ownership, identity and care for local cultural heritage.
Social implications
Key lessons learned in this activity is transferable. Furthermore, the involvement of volunteers can also raise awareness of identity, ownership, cultural understanding, and care for local cultural heritage.
Originality/value
The value of semi-formal activities indicated that set goals can be achieved through crowdsourcing and that the new generation can be taught both to care for their heritage, and that the transfer of digital skills is made possible through such activities. The mass crowdsourcing activity is the first of its kind that attempts to completely digitise a cultural heritage site in 3D via distributed activities.
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Vincent Grèzes, Roland Schegg and Antoine Perruchoud
The aim of this chapter is to present techniques to involve the crowd in the ideation and funding process of tourism ventures. The typologies of those techniques are presented…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this chapter is to present techniques to involve the crowd in the ideation and funding process of tourism ventures. The typologies of those techniques are presented before analysing their key success factors and advantages. Finally, a design model is presented in order to help managers and project holders to implement a crowd ideation and funding process.
Methodology/approach
Literature review, quantitative and qualitative methods such as data analysis and interviews were employed to encompass several aspects of crowdsourcing related to tourism ventures.
Findings
This chapter highlights the key success factors and advantages of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding for tourism ventures, formulates recommendations and proposes a concrete tool for every project holder or manager who would like to engage in those activities.
Research limitations/implications
Although several types of crowdsourcing are operative, we only focused on two particular types that are interesting for tourism entrepreneurs.
Practical implications
The key success factors and key advantages presented in this chapter constitute tracks for reflection and for action for the managers and project holders. The crowdsourcing design model is a tool to help entrepreneurs to elaborate campaigns of crowdsourcing/crowdfunding.
Originality/value
This chapter summarises the evolution of involving the crowd in the innovation and funding process of a project. The reasons and success factors are exposed and illustrated with numerous examples from the tourism industry. Finally, a practical model is presented in order to allow the creation of a crowdsourcing/crowdfunding campaign.
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Linus Dahlander, Lars Bo Jeppesen and Henning Piezunka
Crowdsourcing – a form of collaboration across organizational boundaries – provides access to knowledge beyond an organization’s local knowledge base. Integrating work on…
Abstract
Crowdsourcing – a form of collaboration across organizational boundaries – provides access to knowledge beyond an organization’s local knowledge base. Integrating work on organization theory and innovation, the authors first develop a framework that characterizes crowdsourcing into a main sequential process, through which organizations (1) define the task they wish to have completed; (2) broadcast to a pool of potential contributors; (3) attract a crowd of contributors; and (4) select among the inputs they receive. For each of these phases, the authors identify the key decisions organizations make, provide a basic explanation for each decision, discuss the trade-offs organizations face when choosing among decision alternatives, and explore how organizations may resolve these trade-offs. Using this decision-centric approach, the authors continue by showing that there are fundamental interdependencies in the process that makes the coordination of crowdsourcing challenging.
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Purpose: The insurance business is confronted with coordination difficulties that necessitate a high level of mobility, flexibility, and the capacity to analyse heterogeneous…
Abstract
Purpose: The insurance business is confronted with coordination difficulties that necessitate a high level of mobility, flexibility, and the capacity to analyse heterogeneous, location-dependent data from different sources and qualities. Recent innovations in emerging technologies have given the insurance industry new organisational options. When coupled with data analytics, crowdsourcing in the insurance industry facilitates solving complex issues with the wisdom of crowds. The notion of incorporating crowdsourcing and big data into the mainstream activities of insurance management is developed in this article, as are the ramifications and gains of collective intelligence achieved by Crowdsourcing and the added value of crowdsourcing insurance activities.
Design/methodology/approach: This chapter is a conceptual work that builds on relevant literature.
Findings: This chapter analyses what insurance industry managers should consider when coordinating crowdsourced activities and how they may benefit from collective intelligence combined with data analytics in terms of efficient and real-time response management for the insurance industry. Furthermore, it is demonstrated how they may use crowdsourcing to exploit information and benefit from invoking additional resources and eliminating the institutional voids present in the industry.
Practical implications: Exemplary applications that take advantage of crowdsourcing and data analytics would help the insurance sector respond flexibly, efficiently, and effectively in real time.
Originality/value: This chapter offers new collaborative ways to enhance the decision-making of insurance industry managers. The relevance of overcoming institutional voids is expanded, and repercussions from the given framework are suggested using data analytics.
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Diana-Maria Cismaru and Raluca Silvia Ciochina
The aim of this research was to identify the importance of trust as a determinant of participants’ behaviour and the weight of different motivational factors that enhance the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research was to identify the importance of trust as a determinant of participants’ behaviour and the weight of different motivational factors that enhance the amount and the quality of contribution.
Methodology
Quantitative research methods (online survey of 450 respondents and content analysis of 250 reviews) were applied on a Romanian crowdsourcing platform founded in 2008, with the mission to help potential tourists to take the most informed decision in their travel choices.
Findings
The data collected showed that the majority of the active members have a positive outlook over their experience within the community, admitting its trustworthy characteristics. The findings show that most of the top-rated members of the community were not motivated by material rewards such as money or prizes, but rather by socially related factors or by individual factors (positive feedback through comments or acquiring knowledge).
Research Limitations
The findings cannot be generalised to other crowdsourcing models, which are subject to different task designs, outcomes, local contexts and even functionalities.
Practical Implications
The results of this research can contribute to the design and implementation of customer-centred platforms, which might represent a way of development of organisational communication in the future.
Originality
The research posits that individuals’ experience within colloraborative crowdsourcing communities needs to be meaningful, as participants act based on a reciprocity norm, of giving something back to the community which is useful for fulfilling their own information-seeking purposes.
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In his inauguration speech of 1961, John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic and youngest-ever holder of the office of US President, famously exhorted citizens to ‘Ask not what your…
Abstract
In his inauguration speech of 1961, John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic and youngest-ever holder of the office of US President, famously exhorted citizens to ‘Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.’ At the time, few would have interpreted this as a call for open innovation or even citizen crowdsourcing: neither the language nor the architecture then existed for either. But the sentiment he expressed marked the beginning of a campaign of citizen engagement in developing ideas for government. It was, in effect, the first national exhortation for the crowdsourcing of ideas, and Kennedy’s words have subsequently been adapted by Jeff Howe for the modern crowdsourcing context.
Citizen crowdsourcing is now well-established. This chapter sets out to assess how successful it has been as a mechanism for finessing original and meaningful ideas that advance social goals. We look briefly at leading examples of crowdsourcing for social good. We also look at the underlying factors that support it, including the knowledge and input solicited from the crowd; the crowd’s willingness to participate; and the mechanisms through which the crowd can engage. We trace the idea and practice of crowdsourcing back to Socrates in ancient Athens. We look at prosocial behaviour, exploring selected annals of public intellectuals, including Emerson. We examine citizen science as a forerunner of crowdsourcing, then move into the business strategy of open innovation and, finally, we arrive at crowdsourcing for social good in various guises. In conclusion, we explore what has been learned from initiatives that can now be considered current best practice in this area.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate how social media features enable crowdsourcing and to gain rich understanding of mechanisms that lead from online community design…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate how social media features enable crowdsourcing and to gain rich understanding of mechanisms that lead from online community design practices to success in crowdsourcing initiatives.
Methodology/approach
Inductive qualitative methods were used for investigating the case of crowdsourcing-based microstock business model. Twenty-three in-depth interviews with stock photography industry insiders were combined with netnography data and documents.
Findings
Two mechanisms influencing participants’ motivation and peer-to-peer learning were identified. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are important for participants’ engagement.
Research limitations/implications
Findings of this inductive effort should be replicated in other industry settings and used to develop testable propositions of antecedents and outcomes of crowdsourcing implementations.
Practical implications
Companies embarking on crowdsourcing initiatives can enhance participants’ motivations through social media and enable learning through online communities. Managers must understand who participates in the crowd and what their motivation is.
Originality/value
This study is investigating under-researched peer-vetted creative production crowdsourcing model. Managers can use presented ideas for developing crowdsourcing online communities.
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Xiaohan Wen and S. Sinem Atakan
This study aims to examine consumers’ responses to crowdsourcing campaigns in the request initiation stage using the signaling theory from economics. The purpose of the research…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine consumers’ responses to crowdsourcing campaigns in the request initiation stage using the signaling theory from economics. The purpose of the research is threefold. First, it provides a comprehensive classification of various task types within crowdsourcing. Second, it conceptualizes crowdsourcing announcements as signals of customer orientation and empirically tests the differential effects of the two most common crowdsourcing task types (product- and communication-related) on customer orientation perceptions. Third, it illuminates the downstream behavioral consequences of crowdsourcing campaign announcements.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted secondary data analysis of 883 crowdsourcing campaigns (pilot study) to provide evidence on the differential effects of crowdsourcing task types. In addition, four laboratory experiments were conducted to test the theoretical arguments. To test the main effect of crowdsourcing task types, Study 1A (N = 252 MTurk workers) used a one-factor (product- vs communication-related crowdsourcing vs control) between-subject design, whereas Study 1B (N = 171 undergraduate students) used a 2 (task type: product- vs communication-related) by 2 (product category: restaurant vs fashion) between-subject design. Study 2 (N = 93 MTurk workers) explored the underlying mechanism using a one-factor (product- vs communication-related) between-subject design. Study 3 (N = 375 MTurk workers) investigated the boundary condition for the effect of task type with a 2 (task type: product- vs communication-related) by 3 (company credibility: low vs neutral vs high) between-subject design.
Findings
The pilot study provides evidence for the conceptualized typology and the differential effects of crowdsourcing task types. Study 1A reveals that product-related crowdsourcing tends to have a more substantial impact than communication-related crowdsourcing on how customer-oriented consumers perceive a company. Study 1B validates the results of Study 1A in a different product category and population sample. Study 2 shows that the differential customer-orientation effect is mediated by the perceived cost of implementing the crowdsourcing outcome and unravels the differences in consumers’ purchase and campaign participation intentions depending on task type. Study 3 highlights that the customer-orientation effect attenuates as company credibility increases.
Research limitations/implications
This research contributes to the crowdsourcing literature by categorizing the various types of crowdsourcing campaigns companies undertake and revealing the differential impact of the different types of crowdsourcing campaigns on consumers’ perceptions and behavioral intentions. In doing so, this research converges two lines of consumer research on crowdsourcing, i.e. product- and communication-related crowdsourcing. The findings add to the debate over the returns from research and development (R&D) versus advertising and extend it from marketing strategy to crowdsourcing literature.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the importance of choosing specific task types for crowdsourcing and lead to practical recommendations on designing crowdsourcing campaigns to maximize their benefits to crowdsourcing brands.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that differentiates crowdsourcing task types and compares their effectiveness from a consumer perspective.
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