Traditionally, the term 'crowd' was used almost exclusively in the context of people who self-organized around a common purpose, emotion, or experience. Today, however, firms often refer to crowds in discussions of how collections of individuals can be engaged for organizational purposes. Crowdsourcing-defined here as the use of information technologies to outsource business responsibilities to crowds-can now significantly influence a firm's ability to leverage previously unattainable resources to build competitive advantage. Nonetheless, many managers are hesitant to consider crowdsourcing because they do not understand how its various types can add value to the firm. In response, we explain what crowdsourcing is, the advantages it offers, and how firms can pursue crowdsourcing. We begin by formulating a crowdsourcing typology and show how its four categories-crowd voting, micro-task, idea, and solution crowdsourcing-can help firms develop 'crowd capital,' an organizational-level resource harnessed from the crowd. We then present a three-step process model for generating crowd capital. Step one includes important considerations that shape how a crowd is to be constructed. Step two outlines the capabilities firms need to develop to acquire and assimilate resources (e.g., knowledge, labor, funds) from the crowd. Step three outlines key decision areas that executives need to address to effectively engage crowds.

How to work a crowd: developing crowd capital through crowdsourcing / Prpic, J.; Shukla, P. P.; Kietzmann, J. H.; Mccarthy, Ian Paul. - In: BUSINESS HORIZONS. - ISSN 0007-6813. - 58:1(2015), pp. 77-85. [10.1016/j.bushor.2014.09.005]

How to work a crowd: developing crowd capital through crowdsourcing

McCarthy I. P.
2015

Abstract

Traditionally, the term 'crowd' was used almost exclusively in the context of people who self-organized around a common purpose, emotion, or experience. Today, however, firms often refer to crowds in discussions of how collections of individuals can be engaged for organizational purposes. Crowdsourcing-defined here as the use of information technologies to outsource business responsibilities to crowds-can now significantly influence a firm's ability to leverage previously unattainable resources to build competitive advantage. Nonetheless, many managers are hesitant to consider crowdsourcing because they do not understand how its various types can add value to the firm. In response, we explain what crowdsourcing is, the advantages it offers, and how firms can pursue crowdsourcing. We begin by formulating a crowdsourcing typology and show how its four categories-crowd voting, micro-task, idea, and solution crowdsourcing-can help firms develop 'crowd capital,' an organizational-level resource harnessed from the crowd. We then present a three-step process model for generating crowd capital. Step one includes important considerations that shape how a crowd is to be constructed. Step two outlines the capabilities firms need to develop to acquire and assimilate resources (e.g., knowledge, labor, funds) from the crowd. Step three outlines key decision areas that executives need to address to effectively engage crowds.
2015
Crowd capability; Crowd capital; Crowds; Crowdsourcing; Knowledge resources
How to work a crowd: developing crowd capital through crowdsourcing / Prpic, J.; Shukla, P. P.; Kietzmann, J. H.; Mccarthy, Ian Paul. - In: BUSINESS HORIZONS. - ISSN 0007-6813. - 58:1(2015), pp. 77-85. [10.1016/j.bushor.2014.09.005]
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
2015 Crowd_capital_BH.pdf

Solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: Versione dell'editore
Licenza: DRM (Digital rights management) non definiti
Dimensione 701.18 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
701.18 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11385/188732
Citazioni
  • Scopus 198
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 155
social impact