Methodological challenges of research on crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing jest pojęciem stosunkowo nowym i pomimo zainteresowania badaczy nadal niewiele o nim wiadomo. Obserwuje się jednocześnie trudności natury poznawczej i praktycznej. Stało się to przesłanką do podjęcia refleksji na temat metodologii badań nad tym pojęciem. Przedmiotem artykułu jest identyfikacja dotychczasowych procedur badania crowdsourcingu, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem wyzwań metodologicznych, jakie mogą pojawić się przed badaczami tego pojęcia. Artykuł powstał w oparciu o systematyczny przegląd literatury. Jego wyniki pozwoliły sformułować pewne wskazówki metodologiczne dla dalszych badań. Badania powinny być prowadzone z uwzględnieniem trzech poziomów crowdsourcingu: organizacja, technologia, and uczestnictwo. Dodatkowo podejście ilościowo-jakościowe pozwoli na poszerzenie wiedzy o crowdsourcingu.Crowdsourcing is a relatively new concept and, despite the interest of researchers, still little is known about it. At the same time, one observes difficulties of a cognitive and practical nature. This has become a premise for a reflection on the methodology of research on this subject. The subject of the article is the identification of the existing procedures of studying crowdsourcing, with particular inclusion of the methodological challenges that researchers of this concept may face. The article was written based on a systematic literature review. Its results enabled the formulation of some methodological guidelines for further research. Research should be conducted taking into account three levels of crowdsourcing: organization, technology, and participant. In addition, a quantitative and qualitative approach will enable the expansion of knowledge about crowdsourcing

Conceptualisation of "crowdsourcing" term in management sciences

Background. Crowdsourcing is a relatively new concept, nonetheless it has been raising more and more interest with researchers. This is a result of its potential since it enables improving business processes, creating open innovations, building of competitive advantage, access to experience, information, crowd skills and work, problem solving, crisis management, expanding the organisation's existing activity and offer, creating the organisation's image, improving communication with the surroundings, optimising costs of the organisation's activity. However, although the subject of crowdsourcing constitutes one of the currently emerging directions of research on the basis of management sciences, one observes a peculiar exploration difficulty. It may result from incoherence in conceptualisation or explication of this term. Research aims. The aim of this article is an attempt, basing on the existing research efforts, to conceptualise crowdsourcing based on management sciences. In the article a proposal of conceptualising the notion of crowdsourcing was presented including its levels. Methodology. For the needs of specifying, evaluation, and identification of the existing state of knowledge on crowdsourcing, a systematic literature review was conducted. It enabled getting familiar with the results of similar research, its selection and critical analysis and based on that it was used for expanding the earlier findings of other researchers. The biggest, full text databases i.e Ebsco, Elsevier/Springer, Emerald, Proquest, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science, which include the majority of journals on strategic management were analysed. In order to establish the state of knowledge and existing findings a review of databases in Poland: BazEkon and CEON was also conducted. 54 elaborations of English language databases and 41 from Polish language databases from the period of 2006-2017 were analysed. Key findings. A review of the scientific output revealed incoherence in the conceptualisation of the term of crowdsourcing. The approaches proposed in the existing literature are inadequate and do not allow for full understanding of crowdsourcing

Understanding proactive leadership in crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is a relatively new concept, nonethel ess it has been raising more and more interest with researchers. More and more organisations reach for it, for instance taking into account its potential business value. It decides about access t o experience, innovativeness, information, skills, and work, which are located outside the organisation, a ctually in the crowd. An analysis of various examples of making use of crowdsourcing by organisa tions encourages reflection on the factors, which determine its success. In the literature, one emphasises, among others, the significance of proactive leadership to crowdsourcing. This arti cle is an attempt to specify the significance of proactive leadership in crowdsourcing. For the need s of specifying, evaluating, and identifying the existing state of knowledge on the significance of proactive leadership in crowdsourcing a systematic literature review was conducted. It also enabled se lection, critical evaluation of the existing resear ch, identification and synthesis of the results of all of the principal research studies and theoretical approaches. The results of the systematic literatur e review indicate that proactive leadership is considered to be the necessary condition for beginn ing any actions initiating crowdsourcing. A proactive leader takes the initiative, starts the action, initiates, is able to find the best soluti on, and actively searches for information in order to incre ase the knowledge resources. This is connected with identifying by these persons of the possibilities a nd willingness to introduce changes in work organisation. It creates incentives for the partici pation of virtual communities in crowdsourcing and propagates and promotes accepting their knowledge b y the employees

Ghost workers : the essence and importance for creating scientific knowledge

Purpose: The gig economy involves short-term employment of staff via online platforms to complete specific tasks. These workers are referred to as "giggers" or "ghost workers". While the publications to date focus on the specificity of work or the motivation of giggers, the issue of their importance in the context of creating scientific knowledge remains insufficiently recognized. More and more often it is postulated that the inclusion of various stakeholders in research becomes some obligation, which is part of the democratization of science, its openness and inclusiveness. The purpose of this article is to identify the importance of ghost workers in the creation of scientific knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: The publication is based on a systematic analysis of the literature on the subject published in the years 2006-2022. The following databases were used. Findings: The results of the systematic literature review indicate that it is possible to include a gig worker at every stage of the research process: identifying the general study area, selecting topic and developing a focus, deciding the approach, formulating a plan, collecting information, analysing, and presenting of findings. Originality/value: The publication contributes to the development of research on the emerging issues of gig work in the context of creating scientific knowledge using crowdsourcing platforms

Organizational learning and value creation in local governance : the mediating role of crowdsourcing

Purpose: Different studies have analyzed the relationship between organizational learning and value creation. However, the question of how crowdsourcing affects the relationships between organizational learning and value creation remains unexplored. This paper aims to explore the mediating role of crowdsourcing in the relationship between organizational learning and value creation in local governance. Design/methodology/approach: The hypotheses were tested based on data collected from 205 local governance units in Poland using crowdsourcing. Data collection was carried out by using a set of standardized questionnaires. Correlation analyses were used to specify the strength of the relationships between the variables. To test the hypotheses, multiple regression analysis was used. Findings: The results have shown that in the local governance organizational learning is related to crowdsourcing, while organizational learning is not related to value creation. Crowdsourcing does not play a mediating role in explaining the relationship between organizational learning and value creation. Research limitations/implications: A research model was developed based on the relevant literature in the field of organizational learning, value creation and crowdsourcing. This study urges researchers to explore the relationship between organizational learning and value creation in other public organizations using crowdsourcing. Originality/value: This is the first study on the intermediate role of crowdsourcing in the relationship between organizational learning and value creation in local governance. The proposed model enriches the existing literature and allows better understanding of how crowdsourcing acts as an intermediary in the organizational learning-value creation relationship

When will scientists say yes? Antecedents, consequences and limitations of crowdfunding in research

Crowdfunding in research refers to raising funds by scientists for various research related tasks using crowdfunding platforms. In spite of growing academic interest, there is still a lack of understanding of the various aspects of the above concept. In particular, identification of antecedents, consequences, and limitations is important in predicting future intentions of scientists in the context of crowdfunding in research. We conducted qualitative research using 40 free-form interviews with management academics representing a wide spectrum of positions at public and private universities in Poland. Based on that, we hereby provide a comprehensive framework that allows you to understand why scientists will potentially turn to crowdfunding in research and how they perceive the very concept. Our results show that crowdfunding in research can be encouraged by the following factors: gaining access to funding, legal regulations, replicating successful experience of others, the possibility of obtaining feedback from the public on their research, networking, acceptance of the scientific community, and scientific and social relevance idea. In addition to funding science, building confidence in science and solving social problems are the consequences of crowdfunding in research. In turn, the limitations of crowdfunding in research include the following: uncertainty of results, ostracism on the part of the scientific community, fear of loss of reputation and trust in science, and insufficient adjustment of existing crowdfunding platforms to the requirements of science

Crowdsourcing : a new paradigm of organizational learning of public organizations

Increasingly, it is postulated in the literature that crowdsourcing may be important for organizational learning. However, research in this area has only been conducted in the environment of mature and innovative Scandinavian organizations. Researchers omit public organizations in their deliberations. The aim of this article is to empirically identify the importance of crowdsourcing for the organizational learning of municipal offices, and thus to identify crowdsourcing as a new organizational learning paradigm. The considerations carried out to this aim are important because organizational learning is a prerequisite for running contemporary policies and ensuring sustainable development of public organizations. Studies subordinated to the implementation of the goals set were carried out using the analysis of a typical case study. Four municipal offices operating in Poland implementing four types of crowdsourcing according to the division made by J. Howe were chosen for the research object in a purposeful manner. It is worth noting that the results obtained not only confirm, but also complement the postulates in the subject area of knowledge. The implementation of research allows to recognize crowdsourcing as a new and fast developing paradigm of organizational learning

Crowdsourcing : semantic analysis

Crowdsourcing is a relatively new concept, however raising more and more interest of researchers. Although crowdsourcing is more and more often the subject of scientific research, one can find many ambiguities in the literature, which stem from the proliferation of various research approaches and perspectives. The aim of this article is to try to systematize the concept of crowdsourcing in the perspective of management sciences. For the needs of this article a semantic analysis of 121 definitions of crowdsourcing, identified based on a review of articles in journals available in international databases: Ebsco, Elsevier/Springer, Emerald, Proquest, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and Wiley, has been conducted. Based on the conducted semantic analysis one can ascertain that crowdsourcing is collated with outsourcing, open innovations, partner production, user innovations, open source, social consultations, or civic budget. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, almost synonymously, which does not facilitate drawing the lines between them

Relational norms versus relational capital : a challenge for public organizations

Effective functioning of a public organization requires development and maintenance of relationships with the environment. They are established as a result of well-thought actions and an exchange of information, together with realization of mutual expectations. This is combined in so-called relational standards, which are agreed on by participants of a relationship for the time of cooperation. They include the manner of behavior presented by the parties, as well as development of cooperation, trust, establishment of relationships and farther - shaping the relational capital. Purpose of the paper is to determine the relationship and significance of relational standards for shaping of the relational capital in public organizations. The work presented below was created on the basis of a systematic literature review. It formed foundations for the search for an answer for the question: whether the relational standards support success in shaping the relational capital in a public organization, with special regard to the educational institutions

Theoretical and Methodical Aspects of Crowdsourcing: Effectiveness and Its Measuring

In our times, a growing interest of organizations, including also the public ones, in crowdsourcing, can be observed. It enables to acquire knowledge located in virtual communities. However, despite many benefits, crowdsourcing initiatives very often fail. Therefore, a need for their evaluation is recognized. Nonetheless, in the subject literature, a shortfall of criteria and methods of evaluating crowdsourcing may be observed. The existing proposals do not ensure a comprehensive picture of crowdsourcing, and they do not take into account its multidimensionality. The article is intended for a presentation of the ways of evaluating crowdsourcing and an original proposal of a list of indicators, which may be used for evaluating crowdsourcing in public organizations. The article presents the original proposal of activities, by which it is possible to assess the degree of implementation of the adopted tasks and determine the level of obtained crowdsourcing results. The conducted research allowed to recognize that it is possible to measure crowdsourcing results using quantitative and qualitative indicators. A prerequisite for selecting the appropriate means is first of all to indicate the purposes for which crowdsourcing should be used