IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v48y2019i7p1758-1770.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Crowdsourcing for innovation: How related and unrelated perspectives interact to increase creative performance

Author

Listed:
  • Boons, Mark
  • Stam, Daan

Abstract

In recent years, several organizations have opened up their innovation processes to individuals from outside of the organization by means of digital crowdsourcing. The literature on crowdsourcing has emphasized the importance of using digital technology to reach far beyond organizational boundaries and include individuals with (educational) backgrounds that are very different and unrelated to those within the organization in its innovation process. It has been argued that such individuals will contribute novel insights because they consider an organization's innovation challenge from different perspectives. Building on the literature on creativity and absorptive capacity, we instead argue that having a related perspective will positively affect an individual's idea performance, while unrelated perspectives only positively contribute to idea performance in combination with a related perspective. Analyses of 2178 ideas contributed by 948 crowd members to 68 crowdsourced idea challenges show that it is important to consider how (educational) backgrounds can provide individuals with multiple perspectives, which can be either related or unrelated, and study how the interplay of related and unrelated perspectives affects the value of ideas in organizational open innovation initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Boons, Mark & Stam, Daan, 2019. "Crowdsourcing for innovation: How related and unrelated perspectives interact to increase creative performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1758-1770.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:7:p:1758-1770
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2019.04.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733319300964
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2019.04.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Boons & Daan Stam & Harry G. Barkema, 2015. "Feelings of Pride and Respect as Drivers of Ongoing Member Activity on Crowdsourcing Platforms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(6), pages 717-741, September.
    2. Giuseppe De Luca & Valeria Perotti, 2011. "Estimation of ordered response models with sample selection," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 11(2), pages 213-239, June.
    3. Richard Chiburis & Michael Lokshin, 2007. "Maximum likelihood and two-step estimation of an ordered-probit selection model," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(2), pages 167-182, June.
    4. Youngjin Yoo & Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen & Ann Majchrzak, 2012. "Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1398-1408, October.
    5. Satish Nambisan, 2017. "Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 1029-1055, November.
    6. Kristina Dahlin & L. Weingart & P. Hinds, 2005. "Team diversity and information use," Post-Print hal-00480406, HAL.
    7. Schweisfurth, Tim G. & Raasch, Christina, 2018. "Absorptive capacity for need knowledge: Antecedents and effects for employee innovativeness," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 687-699.
    8. Hong, Lu & Page, Scott E., 2001. "Problem Solving by Heterogeneous Agents," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 123-163, March.
    9. Natalia Bobadilla & Patrick Gilbert, 2017. "Managing scientific and technical experts in R&D: beyond tensions, conflicting logics and orders of worth," Post-Print halshs-02000738, HAL.
    10. Laura J. Kornish & Karl T. Ulrich, 2011. "Opportunity Spaces in Innovation: Empirical Analysis of Large Samples of Ideas," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(1), pages 107-128, January.
    11. Peter J. Lane & Michael Lubatkin, 1998. "Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning," Post-Print hal-02311860, HAL.
    12. Abbie Griffin & John R. Hauser, 1992. "Patterns of Communication Among Marketing, Engineering and Manufacturing---A Comparison Between Two New Product Teams," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(3), pages 360-373, March.
    13. Dahlander, Linus & Piezunka, Henning, 2014. "Open to suggestions: How organizations elicit suggestions through proactive and reactive attention," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 812-827.
    14. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    15. Matthijs Warrens, 2010. "Inequalities between multi-rater kappas," Advances in Data Analysis and Classification, Springer;German Classification Society - Gesellschaft für Klassifikation (GfKl);Japanese Classification Society (JCS);Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society (CLADAG);International Federation of Classification Societies (IFCS), vol. 4(4), pages 271-286, December.
    16. Barry L. Bayus, 2013. "Crowdsourcing New Product Ideas over Time: An Analysis of the Dell IdeaStorm Community," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(1), pages 226-244, June.
    17. Lee Fleming, 2001. "Recombinant Uncertainty in Technological Search," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 117-132, January.
    18. Dahlander, Linus & Gann, David M., 2010. "How open is innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 699-709, July.
    19. Ann Majchrzak & Arvind Malhotra, 2016. "Effect of Knowledge-Sharing Trajectories on Innovative Outcomes in Temporary Online Crowds," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 685-703, December.
    20. Østergaard, Christian R. & Timmermans, Bram & Kristinsson, Kari, 2011. "Does a different view create something new? The effect of employee diversity on innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 500-509, April.
    21. Nikolaus Franke & Marion K. Poetz & Martin Schreier, 2014. "Integrating Problem Solvers from Analogous Markets in New Product Ideation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(4), pages 1063-1081, April.
    22. Linus Dahlander & Siobhan O'Mahony & David M. Gann, 2016. "One foot in, one foot out: how does individuals' external search breadth affect innovation outcomes?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 280-302, February.
    23. Lettl, Christopher & Rost, Katja & von Wartburg, Iwan, 2009. "Why are some independent inventors 'heroes' and others 'hobbyists'? The moderating role of technological diversity and specialization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 243-254, March.
    24. Morgan, Todd & Obal, Michael & Anokhin, Sergey, 2018. "Customer participation and new product performance: Towards the understanding of the mechanisms and key contingencies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 498-510.
    25. Schweisfurth, Tim G., 2017. "Comparing internal and external lead users as sources of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 238-248.
    26. Lars Bo Jeppesen & Karim R. Lakhani, 2010. "Marginality and Problem-Solving Effectiveness in Broadcast Search," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 1016-1033, October.
    27. Varsakelis, Nikos C., 2006. "Education, political institutions and innovative activity: A cross-country empirical investigation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1083-1090, September.
    28. Van de Ven, Wynand P. M. M. & Van Praag, Bernard M. S., 1981. "The demand for deductibles in private health insurance : A probit model with sample selection," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 229-252, November.
    29. Bogers, Marcel & Foss, Nicolai J. & Lyngsie, Jacob, 2018. "The “human side” of open innovation: The role of employee diversity in firm-level openness," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 218-231.
    30. Schemmann, Brita & Herrmann, Andrea M. & Chappin, Maryse M.H. & Heimeriks, Gaston J., 2016. "Crowdsourcing ideas: Involving ordinary users in the ideation phase of new product development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1145-1154.
    31. Schweisfurth, Tim G. & Raasch, Christina, 2018. "Absorptive Capacity for Need Knowledge: Antecedents and Effects for Employee Innovativeness," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(4), pages 687-699.
    32. Youngjin Yoo & Ola Henfridsson & Kalle Lyytinen, 2010. "Research Commentary ---The New Organizing Logic of Digital Innovation: An Agenda for Information Systems Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 724-735, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Palacios-Marqués, Daniel & Gallego-Nicholls, José Fernando & Guijarro-García, María, 2021. "A recipe for success: Crowdsourcing, online social networks, and their impact on organizational performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    2. Gurca, Andrei & Bagherzadeh, Mehdi & Velayati, Rezvan, 2023. "Aligning the crowdsourcing type with the problem attributes to improve solution search efficacy," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    3. Zefeng Mi & Yongmin Shang & Gang Zeng, 2022. "The impact of knowledge base on technological innovation of emerging industries from the perspective of related variety: A case study of China’s fuel cell industry," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 57-75, March.
    4. Ren, Jie & Han, Yue & Genc, Yegin & Yeoh, William & Popovič, Aleš, 2021. "The boundary of crowdsourcing in the domain of creativity✰," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    5. Feng, Yuanyue & Yi, Zihui & Yang, Congcong & Chen, Ruoyi & Feng, Ye, 2022. "How do gamification mechanics drive solvers’ Knowledge contribution? A study of collaborative knowledge crowdsourcing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    6. Liao, Junyun & Chen, Jiawen & Mou, Jian, 2021. "Examining the antecedents of idea contribution in online innovation communities: A perspective of creative self-efficacy," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Patel, Chirag & Ahmad Husairi, Mariyani & Haon, Christophe & Oberoi, Poonam, 2023. "Monetary rewards and self-selection in design crowdsourcing contests: Managing participation, contribution appropriateness, and winning trade-offs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dahlander, Linus & Gann, David M. & Wallin, Martin W., 2021. "How open is innovation? A retrospective and ideas forward," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    2. Bogers, Marcel & Foss, Nicolai J. & Lyngsie, Jacob, 2018. "The “human side” of open innovation: The role of employee diversity in firm-level openness," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 218-231.
    3. Boeker, Warren & Howard, Michael D. & Basu, Sandip & Sahaym, Arvin, 2021. "Interpersonal relationships, digital technologies, and innovation in entrepreneurial ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 495-507.
    4. Ardito, Lorenzo & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio, 2017. "Breadth of external knowledge sourcing and product innovation: The moderating role of strategic human resource practices," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 261-272.
    5. Leone, Maria Isabella & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Natalicchio, Angelo, 2022. "Boundary spanning through external technology acquisition: The moderating role of star scientists and upstream alliances," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    6. Kokshagina, Olga & Le Masson, Pascal & Bories, Florent, 2017. "Fast-connecting search practices: On the role of open innovation intermediary to accelerate the absorptive capacity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 232-239.
    7. repec:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:8:p:- is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Christoph Riedl & Victor P. Seidel, 2018. "Learning from Mixed Signals in Online Innovation Communities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1010-1032, December.
    9. Pollok, Patrick & Amft, André & Diener, Kathleen & Lüttgens, Dirk & Piller, Frank T., 2021. "Knowledge diversity and team creativity: How hobbyists beat professional designers in creating novel board games," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(8).
    10. Soluk, Jonas & Decker-Lange, Carolin & Hack, Andreas, 2023. "Small steps for the big hit: A dynamic capabilities perspective on business networks and non-disruptive digital technologies in SMEs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    11. Thomas Kreuzer & Anna-Katharina Lindenthal & Anna Maria Oberländer & Maximilian Röglinger, 2022. "The Effects of Digital Technology on Opportunity Recognition," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(1), pages 47-67, February.
    12. Schweisfurth, Tim G. & Raasch, Christina, 2018. "Absorptive Capacity for Need Knowledge: Antecedents and Effects for Employee Innovativeness," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(4), pages 687-699.
    13. Nambisan, Satish & Wright, Mike & Feldman, Maryann, 2019. "The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    14. Natalicchio, A. & Messeni Petruzzelli, A. & Garavelli, A.C., 2017. "Innovation problems and search for solutions in crowdsourcing platforms – A simulation approach," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 64, pages 28-42.
    15. Brunswicker, Sabine & Schecter, Aaron, 2019. "Coherence or flexibility? The paradox of change for developers’ digital innovation trajectory on open platforms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    16. Siachou, Evangelia & Vrontis, Demetris & Trichina, Eleni, 2021. "Can traditional organizations be digitally transformed by themselves? The moderating role of absorptive capacity and strategic interdependence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 408-421.
    17. Tat Koon Koh & Muller Y. M. Cheung, 2022. "Seeker Exemplars and Quantitative Ideation Outcomes in Crowdsourcing Contests," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(1), pages 265-284, March.
    18. Foege, J. Nils & Lauritzen, Ghita Dragsdahl & Tietze, Frank & Salge, Torsten Oliver, 2019. "Reconceptualizing the paradox of openness: How solvers navigate sharing-protecting tensions in crowdsourcing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6), pages 1323-1339.
    19. Raquel Puente & María Antonia Cervilla & Carlos Giovanni González & Nunzia Auletta, 2017. "Determinants of the growth aspiration: a quantitative study of Venezuelan entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 699-726, March.
    20. Homfeldt, Felix & Rese, Alexandra & Simon, Franz, 2019. "Suppliers versus start-ups: Where do better innovation ideas come from?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1738-1757.
    21. Patel, Chirag & Ahmad Husairi, Mariyani & Haon, Christophe & Oberoi, Poonam, 2023. "Monetary rewards and self-selection in design crowdsourcing contests: Managing participation, contribution appropriateness, and winning trade-offs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:7:p:1758-1770. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.