Role and Challenges of Crowdsourcing in Management and Technology

Computer Science

Since 2006, as more academic and practitioner research on crowdsourcing have been published, the topic has grown in relevance within the broader area of management and technology. However, no systematic review of the topic has yet appeared in management journals; also, the field suffers from ambiguity in its description, which has resulted in its mainly unstructured evolution. As a result, the authors conduct a thorough analysis of the existing body of knowledge on crowdsourcing, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of this literature stream before recommending future research directions. The study is based on many peer-reviewed articles published between January 2006 and January 2012. Crowdsourcing is embedded in two mainstream disciplines within the broader subject matter of innovation and management, according to the review: (1) open innovation and (2) co-creation. In addition, the review touches on a number of topics covered by other theoretical streams, including (3) Information systems management, (4) organisational theory and design, (5) marketing, and (6) strategy. The authors take a process-oriented approach to crowdsourcing research, using the „Input–Process–Output' framework to interpret findings along the lines of: (1) Input (Problem/Task) (2) Process (session management; problem management; knowledge management and technology (3) Outcome (solution/completed task; seekers' benefits; solvers' benefits). This framework includes a detailed account of how the topic has changed over time, as well as recommendations for future research directions in the form of research questions that are useful to both academics and managers.

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