International audienceDue to the heterogeneous nature of the crowd in online crowdsourcing, one key question discussed by academics and practitioners is whether participants are skilled enough to make valuable contributions. This research studies learning processes underlying idea generation in creative contests. Based on qualitative findings triangulating participants’ and brands’ perspectives, we identify six incoming and outgoing user skills which contribute to the development of valuable contributions and determine participation in future contests. Building on three types of brand instructions which emerge from the data, findings show how value is added by the collectivity and two complementary dynamics: (1) social learning and (2) learning from experience. From a managerial perspective, results provide guidance in designing successful crowdsourcing competitions by taking benefit from a multi-competent crowd
This study seeks to understand the managerial consequences of involving users in the innovation process and focuses on how to avoid contestants' negative feelings by dealing with increasingly more informed participants in crowdsourcing contests. Using a qualitative approach confronting participants' and managers' perspectives, the findings reveal a gap between how companies intend to manage their relationships with participants, what they actually do, and how this affects participants' feelings. Three sources of negative feelings emerge from the data and must be dealt with: (1) information regarding the future use of contributions and overpromising, (2) sharing intellectual property rights, and (3) prise allocation and selection criteria. As the increasing empowerment of participants requires rethinking the participant–brand relationship in online crowdsourcing, the results provide guidelines for effective relationship building in creative contests by identifying three types of needed recognition from the consumers' side, which refer to three hierarchical levels of participant valorization from the managers' side: basic, contribution and social recognition.
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