Revisiting SMEs’ Business Strategy: Shifting Outsourcing to Crowdsourcing Practices to Enhance SMEs’ Performance

Abstract

The emergence of digital technology platforms such as crowdsourcing platform allows SMEs to establish an unmediated connection between suppliers and the customers; hence, enabling a close engagement with other stakeholders. Crowdsourcing practice offers the SMEs an unprecedented opportunity to enhance their business performance via the utilization of a large pool of crowds' wisdom. Based on the above business strategy, it is very crucial to revisit SMEs' business strategy; i.e., by shifting traditional method of conducting business (outsourcing) to new business phenomenon i.e. crowdsourcing practices. Specifically, this paper attempts to explore the roles of crowdsourcing practices, innovative owner-managers, and the relationship quality in enhancing SMEs' business performance. The analysis technique used in this study using PLS-SEM. The study's findings revealed that innovative owner-manager and relationship quality of commitment can be explained further via leveraging on crowdsourcing practices to improve business performance. This study may enrich the crowdsourcing knowledge among SMEs to revisit their existing business strategies; and to implement and better manage crowdsourcing practices in their organizations, particularly in sustaining their businesses post

The Effect of Financial Technology, Innovation, Business Strategy, and Market Orientation on Business Performance among Indonesian SMEs: A Study in Riau Province

“…Indeed, the effectiveness of a business can be gauged by its ability to formulate and adapt its business strategy to the evolving business environment, seize emerging opportunities, and thereby create a competitive advantage that elevates business performance. In today's rapidly changing business landscape, it is imperative for all SME business actors to articulate their diverse ideas in developing business strategies aimed at cultivating strong business performance (Mansor 2022). This finding aligns with the results reported by Mustikowati and Tysari (2014) but contradicts the findings of Rahayu et al (2019).…”