Role of Crowd Sourcing in Innovation - Research Paper Example

ROLE OF ROLE OF CROWD SOURCING IN INNOVATION By Location Role of Role of Crowd Sourcing in Innovation Introduction Crowdsourcing refers to the process of getting required contents, ideas, or services by seeking contribution from a large group of individuals. This mostly takes place on online communities as opposed to the traditional source of suppliers and employees. Crowdsourcing can always be used to subdivide tedious responsibility or to raises funds for a startup business or charity. Crowdsourcing always brings together the efforts of many part-time workers and volunteers. Every individual in this case contributes the larger result. This paper aims at critically appraising the role of crowdsourcing in today’s rapidly changing global business environments that are based on innovation; and explaining why networks facilitate crowdsourcing. Analysis There is always a close relationship between numbers and power. However, the power that comes from crowdsourcing does not only come from the numbers. If a business gets a million likes from millions of followers who are not funded then the whole process will be pointless. People can accumulate the power of crowdsourcing to build their extended enterprise only if they apply the same rules that govern their goals and mission. The crowdsourcing should, therefore, must be part of the business’ overall blueprint. Crowdsourcing can also be a way through which a business can get ideas of their followers (Sloane 2011, p. 109). These ideas can then be used for innovation in the company. The power in the big numbers will, thus mean that the business organization will get access to many ideas. It is undoubtable that crowdsourcing is quickly increasing efforts of business organizations. This is because of the high rate at which the use of crowdsourcing is advancing. When looking at it in terms of innovation, crowdsourcing will be seen as a very promising way of getting ideas that would lead to innovation. Previously business organizations never considered using crowdsourcing for innovation. But considering the high rates of growth and the success stories it is clearly evident that a business organization that will invest in crowdsourcing for innovation will most probably not regret it in the future (Bordegoni & Rizzi 2011, p. 89). When properly managed, crowdsourcing can be used to complement or replace a business organization’s employees. Through crowdsourcing a business organization can get access to a large number of individuals who are willing to contribute to the success of the business organization either on part-time or volunteer basis. Given that they will do the same things that would have been done by employees who are employed on a permanent basis, the company will have to spend less on labour. With a less expenditure on human resource, the business is likely to realize more net profits (Chesbrough, Vanhaverbeke & West 2006, p. 127). However, individuals working on volunteer and part-time basis can sometimes be very unreliable. Crowdsourcing can also be used as a process of replacing employees. It has proved to be a less hectic way of carrying out job recruitment. This is because it is convenient, time saving, and affordable means of carrying out the whole activities. Instead of having hundreds of applicants crowding the business premises for vetting, crowdsourcing enables a business organization to carry out all these activities online. The capability of the potential employees will also be tested online making the process less cumbersome. Using this method of employee recruitment can also reduce occurrences such as discrimination and unfairness during the vetting process (Mansell 2013, p. 112). This will result in the company being able to get the best employees available. With employees with desired quality business organizations can improve in their innovation. Crowdsourcing can enhance brainstorming during the innovation process. Crowdsourcing is not all about getting different ideas from a big crowd, but getting the crowd together to discuss their ideas. Through this process, ideas that can lead to innovations are deliberated upon by the crowd. This means that these ideas can be contributed to by people with different perspectives. The result of such deliberations is definitely a situation in which ideas that at first seem as average ones are perfected into innovative ones. Such ideas are not only a product of a single brain, but the result of thousands of brains giving their best toward the development of market changing innovations (Mauzy & Harriman 2003, p. 92). The software development industry is one of the most common beneficiaries of this aspect of crowd sourcing. Crowdsourcing can be a way through which business organizations can get market information. By getting in touch with such a big number of people, a business organization can be able to know what their clients expect from them. This is because they will be communicating and seeing the views of their customers and the public regarding their products and services. Given the number of people involved in crowdsourcing, a business organization can have a clear picture of exactly what the market wants by simply compiling and analysing the comments on their performance (Skarzynski, & Gibson 2008, p. 145). The business can use the result of such analysis to come up with new products or modify the existing ones to fit the expectations of the market. The resulting products and services will definitely give a business a market advantage over their competitors. Crowdsourcing can be used by business organizations to speed up their rate of innovation. If a business organization completely depends on their current workforce, then innovation might take much longer. The reason behind this is that the ideas that can be brought forward by their employees are limited as compared to those that can be accessed through crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing on the other hand, enables a business organization to get ideas from thousands of individuals from all over the world. The business will, therefore, not have to depend on their current employees to have to come up with market shaking innovations. The fact that individuals used in crowdsourcing come from different background to enable business organizations to come up with innovations that are more diverse and in a shorter period (Lee & Olson, 2010, p. 201). Business organizations can also use crowdsourcing to follow up the performance of their various inventions. People will always give their thoughts on a business products or services through online means. If a business organization has made an innovation that is likely to win them more market shares then they will definitely see people giving positive comments about their products or services. If the innovation made is a failure, then they will also know through the number of negative comments that they have found on their products or services. This will enable a business to avoid living in the illusion that their innovations are going to take over the market while the opposite is the case (Roberts & Zahay 2012, p. 124). They will, thus be able to know what to do strategically in either of the two situations. For a business to effectively and successfully use crowdsourcing for innovation, there need to be networked. This is the only way through which they can be able to get in touch with such large masses. The networks can be said to be the main enabling factor for the success of crowdsourcing. Networks enable business organizations to get a way of communicating with big masses simultaneously. Apart from simultaneous communication, networks also allow people from different geographical location to come together and share ideas and thoughts (Moffitt & Dover 2011, p. 110). This would have been impossible without a means of connection. People from different geographical locations and social status go through different life experiences. It is only through networking that such people can be able to share their experiences. Networks are the primary requirement for crowdsourcing to take place. Apart from bringing people of different types of experiences together, it also enables business organization to communicate to their customers and potential customers as a mass. It also enables people to bring out their opinion whether positive or negative. This can in some instance be a negative thing for a business organization if the contributions made do not contribute in any way to their inventions. In such cases crowdsourcing can act as a liability instead of an asset to the business organization that decides to use it for innovation. Conclusion It is clearly evident that the use of crowdsourcing for innovation can be of high benefit to a business organization. This is because of the various advantages that it avails to the business organization that chooses to use it. By using crowdsourcing a company will be able to access a wide variety of information that can help them in innovation. This information includes market expectations, new ideas, and customers’ analysis. With such information a business organization will, definitely be in a position to come up with products and services that will definitely appeal to their customers. However, the use of crowdsourcing does not guarantee a business success in innovation. Sometimes a business organization can get ideas that cannot help them in coming up with new products and services. They can also get customer expectations that cannot be met. In such cases it can be said that the use of crowdsourcing will be fruitless. Bibliography Benkler, Y 2007, The wealth of networks: how social production transforms markets and freedom, Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn. Bordegoni, M., & Rizzi, C 2011, Innovation in product design: from CAD to virtual prototyping, Springer, London. Burdick, A 2012, Digital humanities, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Chesbrough, H 2007, Open business models: how to thrive in the new innovation landscape, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass. Chesbrough, H., Vanhaverbeke, W., & West, J. 2006, Open Innovation Researching a New Paradigm, OUP Oxford, Oxford. Gray, D., & Vander Wal, T 2012, The connected company, OReilly Media, Inc, Sebastopol, CA. 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