Characteristics of “Walled Garden” Crowdsourcing Platforms for Global Development

Technological advances in distributed labor have made it possible for low-income individuals in developing nations to have access to labor opportunities from around the world. Seeing opportunities to develop skilled labor forces, governments, and private groups are currently seeking to utilize distributed work and increase the prosperity of citizens. In this research in progress, we present a dual case study of two efforts in online outsourcing to aid in job growth, employment of marginalized populations, and participation in the digital economy for two nations, Kenya and Malaysia. We contrast the different approaches based on our initial data collection efforts. More data including documents and interviews will be collected before analysis is complete

Perceived Antecedents to The Success of Impact Sourcing in Bangladesh

Impact sourcing (ImS) has been identified as an emergent component of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) which relates to the practice of developing IT skills for marginalised communities. Also known as socially responsible outsourcing, the core element of ImS is to train and employ people from disadvantaged background in expediting socioeconomic development. While the positive influence of ImS has been significantly noticed in countries such as India, Kenya and Nepal, there has not been any appropriate initiatives noticed in one of the most promising nations, Bangladesh. With adequate IT and telecommunication foundation followed by strong governmental support, Bangladesh has the potential to flourish in ImS sector and make significant socioeconomic development for its people. This research in progress paper proposes a conceptual framework to understand the perceived antecedents for adopting ImS undertakings in Bangladesh and provide valuable insight to the government and researchers/practitioners for employing effective ICT based social development strategies

Infusion of social innovation in outsourcing for developing countries: A case in Nepal

Outsourcing has been a buzzword in the business world for last several decades. Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) have been dominating the outsourcing jobs to developing countries. Recently, a new shift of outsourcing to impact sourcing have emerged through which digitally-enabled jobs are given to marginalised individuals so that their material conditions would be improved. The aim of this paper is to analyse effects from impact sourcing service providers (ISSPs) on the local communities. First, major stakeholders such as the providers, employees (the communities) and the clients (companies using impact sourcing), have been analysed. Theoretical framework is prepared to show their motivations to be part of the impact sourcing. Altruistic hearts and intents of both the providers and the clients could be a base to promote this impact sourcing model to the next level

Online freelancing and impact sourcing: Examining the inclusive development potential of online service work in the Philippines

Online freelancing and impact sourcing have in recent years emerged as new models for offshore service delivery. Both have the potential of spreading the gains of online service work. Based on empirical research in the Philippines, this article examines how both models integrate outlying areas and more marginalized workers in international networks of online service delivery. The different models of information and communication technologies (ICT)-enabled service delivery were observed to rely on the same pool of labor, thereby limiting the broader distribution of its gains. The article concludes that ICT4D research can benefit from an inclusive development lens when examining the beneficiaries and users of new (information) technologies and their longer-term prospects for income generation

Defining impact sourcing and its conceptual underpinnings

Impact Sourcing has been generally defined as a practice in Information Technology outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO) that employs disadvantaged individuals to provide outsourcing services. There is an emerging interest in Impact Sourcing evidenced by a growing number of research in the field. However, as it is still at its nascent stage, no common definition of Impact sourcing has been established. This paper attempts to fill this gap. To accomplish this 21papers (professional and academic) on Impact Sourcing were reviewed to, among others, identify the various concepts that underpin Impact Sourcing and characteristics that make up the practice. Considering characteristics such as the primary activities, location and task types, a comprehensive definition of Impact Sourcing is offered

Social innovations in outsourcing: an empirical investigation of impact sourcing companies in India

Impact sourcing – the practice of bringing digitally-enabled outsourcing jobs to marginalized individuals – is an important emerging social innovation in the outsourcing industry. The impact sourcing model of delivering Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT–BPO) services not only seeks to deliver business value for clients, but is also driven by an explicit social mission to help marginalized communities enjoy the benefits of globalization. This dual focus has led to the ambitious claim that social value creation can be integral to (and not always by-products of) innovative IT–BPO models. Given the relative newness of the impact sourcing business model there is scarce research about how impact sourcing companies emerge and the process through which entrepreneurs build and operate such companies. This paper draws on a qualitative study of seven Indian impact sourcing companies and develops a process model of the individual-level motivational triggers of impact sourcing entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial actions underpinning different phases of venture creation and the positive institutional-level influences on impact sourcing. The paper argues that since deeply personalized values are central to the creation and development of impact sourcing companies, the business model may not be easy to replicate. The analysis highlights an intensive period of embedding and robust alliances with local partners as crucial for the scalability and sustainability of the impact sourcing business model. It also emphasizes the role of ‘social’ encoding and mimicry in determining the extent to which impact sourcing companies are able to retain their commitment to marginalized communities

Impact sourcing ventures and local communities: a frame alignment perspective

Using qualitative methods, this paper explores how impact sourcing (ImS) ventures frame their activities to marginalized communities. In doing so, the paper attempts to unearth the social–psychological processes undergirding ImS strategies. The findings highlight the difficulties faced by ImS ventures in operationalizing their strategic intent. More specifically, the paper provides insights into how different and diverse framings are used by ImS ventures to influence the local community. From a strategic perspective, the paper suggests that framings related to progress, family, material benefit and egalitarianism can help overcome the inevitable tensions and misunderstandings with the community. Drawing on the findings, we develop a process model that describes how competing framings of an ImS venture and the community could eventually align. Theoretically, the pa- per illuminates the day to day micro-processes of reality negotiation between so- cially driven information technology – business process outsourcing businesses and the local communities they seek to impac

Social, commercial, or both? An exploratory study of the identity orientation of digital social innovations

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordThe information systems literature has studied digital innovation extensively and focused primarily on its commercial related objectives. Yet, digital social innovations seek to solve social problems, while implementing commercially viable approaches. Drawing from the social entrepreneurship literature and using computational social science methods, we identify the peculiar utilitarian (commercial) and collectivistic (social) identity orientations that shape digital social innovation (DSI). We use a sample of 292 DSI initiatives from Latin America and find that DSIs present both utilitarian and collectivist identity orientation. We also find that the collectivistic identity orientation tends to be more salient in less developed contexts. This allows us to discuss implications for the research on digital social innovation and to open up a discussion on the role of context and possible tensions that may emerge in combining both identity orientations.Alan Turing Institut

SSCM Performance Improvement Strategy of Container Shipping Industry in Indonesia

The objectives of this study are to measure and analyze the factors that significantly impact the performance of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) container shipping industry in Indonesia. This research will then formulate recommendations on SSCM performance improvement strategy using SEM-PLS method. The results show that currently the business actor and service user perceive the SSCM performance of container shipping industry in Indonesia as low. Furthermore, four latent variables give significant and positive impact to SSCM performance. The latent variables include Technology, Integrated Logistic System, Sustainable Market Orientation and Fair-Trade System. The Technology and Integrated Logistic System as the priority should be give more attention. The conclusion of the research result shows that strategy to improve the SSCM performance of container shipping industry in Indonesia must be carried out through a holistic approach and seen as a system. The managerial implication of this study is that the four latent variables of the model sorted, according to their priorities from the total effect coefficients, can be applied as a strategy to improve SSCM performance. Keywords: sustainable supply chain, container shipping, SEM, SSC