Faster, Better, Happier – Internal Crowd Work as Form of Structural Empowerment for Employee Empowerment and Success

Abstract

ICW is gaining increasing importance as an innovative concept of digital work organization. This study examines ICW and its role as a structural empowerment tool driving the psychological empowerment of employees. This is done by means of a case study on a telecommunications company that has been successfully using ICW for more than ten years. Using a mixed-method approach, a model for an in-depth understanding of empowerment in ICW is exploratively developed based on qualitative data. Furthermore, organizational enablers in ICW are identified as important prerequisites and success factors. Additionally, the study shows how ICW as structural empowerment promotes psychological empowerment and can lead to higher speed, increased synergies, and higher employee satisfaction. A quantitative deep-dive provides additional figures on the structural empowerment mechanisms in ICW as well as on employee perceptions.