Everybody Is Invited but not Everybody Will Come — The Influence of Personality Dispositions on Users’ Entry Decisions for Crowdsourcing Competitions

Crowdsourcing competitions have been introduced as powerful instruments to integrate users in new product development. While abundant research has investigated motives for participation, little research so far has addressed the reasons why users choose not to participate. We suggest that some potential solvers may refrain from participation from the outset on account of their personality dispositions. In our study, we complement existing knowledge about user motivation to engage in co-creation with findings from personality research. In particular, we investigate individual differences resulting from enduring personality dispositions that might affect potential solvers’ decisions whether or not to enter crowdsourcing competitions. The results of our study show that the likelihood that users will participate in a crowdsourcing competition increases when they score high on openness, extraversion and trait competitiveness. Dispositional trust was not, however, a discriminating factor between participants and non-participants.