CROWDSOURCING Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

CROWDSOURCING Case Solution

Abstract

Crowdsourcing is an innovative method of project development. It allows individuals to collaborate digitally on a project. This method of operation bypasses most of the overhead costs of the company, including: employee training and payroll. Although crowdsourcing has numerous advantages and disadvantages but the company can flourish and gain higher profit if the strategy is executed properly. Different companies, such as: “MTurk” and Threadless, etc. use the crowdsourcing method and gain remarkable profits. The key is to use and innovate the strategy properly.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is an innovative method of project development. It allows individuals to collaborate digitally on a project. This method of operation bypasses most of a company’s overhead costs, including: employee training and payroll. The result is faster turnaround times, which can lead towards greater profits. However, not all projects are well-suited for crowdsourcing. Its popularity stems from projects like Wikipedia, which uses volunteers to write code. For more complex projects, vendors offer platforms that allow people to submit their ideas. Nonprofit organizations can engage activists and employees, to come up with new ideas for a product or service. There are even organizations built on crowdsourcing. (Brabham, 2013) (See Appendix 1)

History

The concept of crowdsourcing began as early as 1884, when the British magazine:“The Times of London” announced that the Britannica Encyclopedia would cease to publish a print edition. The cited reason was competition from the open-source reference site Wikipedia. While the history of crowdsourcing is fairly brief, the basic idea of the concept isn't new. In fact, the practice of crowdsourcing has been around for nearly two hundred years. (Ellis, 2014)

Crowdsourcing has been around for a while, but it has only recently took off. It coincided with the emergence of "open innovation" in many industries.

Applications

There are several types of crowdsourcing, ranging from large scale projects to small niche projects. In general, the most successful projects are those which are based on problems that bug people or on subjects that people feel a strong sense of connection with. For example, projects that help the environment are a great use for crowdsourcing. The concept of crowdsourcing has a wide variety of applications. It can help the businesses in completing tasks, such as: advertising or marketing campaigns. This method allows anyone to sign up and complete these tasks. One such important application of cloud sourcing is its innovation in E-commerce.

Crowd sourcing in E-Commerce

In the case of e-commerce, it is especially useful when the tasks are repetitive and can require large amounts of labor. It also allows companies to get more information on the products and services which the consumers prefer. This approach can be very effective for a company that needs an extra hand to get the job done. (Pan, 2015)

Advantages

The biggest benefit of crowdsourcing is its ability to increase diversity and speed. It can also provide an additional marketing and media exposure, although not all projects are suited for it. It allows customers to be more involved with a company. It creates brand loyalty and engagement. By allowing people to participate in a contest; the companies can encourage consumers to interact with the brand. It also provides a personal incentive for repeat purchases. It helps in creating a sense of community, but there are also some challenges that you should consider before opting for crowdsourcing. (Seghezzi, 2021)

Disadvantages

The main disadvantage of crowdsourcing is that it is undemocratic. It does not allow for collaboration and democracy. Thus, it might be ineffective for urgent tasks that require a high level of creativity. But when done correctly; crowdsourcing can offer a huge advantage. (José, 2016) (See Appendix 2)

Limitations

There are numerous limitations of crowdsourcing on e-commerce. First is the need for adequate resources to manage and support the crowd. Many companies make the mistake of thinking that the crowd can contribute to every part of their business. For instance, Cambrian House experienced limited crowd engagement. Another limitation of crowdsourcing for e-commerce is that the audience is mostly leisure participants who are more likely to engage in low-skill tasks. (Maiolini, 2011)

Crowd sourcing innovation

Many ecommerce companies are using crowdsourcing to expand their offerings and to improve their performance. Some are using it as a competitive advantage, while others are simply supplementing their existing teams.

When crowdsourcing is done properly, a business can leverage the power of the crowd to find the perfect product. A successful ecommerce company will use the crowd to create a unique product that will stand out from what its rivals are offering. Besides, ecommerce companies can also benefit from crowdsourcing. These services are available for anyone to use. The crowd will help your business to grow by letting you tap into a pool of consumers who are interested in what you sell. (See appendix 3)

Examples of business using crowdsourcing

In order to understand the significance and effectiveness of crowdsourcing, let’s consider the case of companies using the distinctive crowdsourcing methods, which are:(Senn, 2006)

Threadless

Threadless is a focused web-based attire store sent off in 2000 by “Jake Nickell and Jacob DeHart”, with $1,000 in seed cash with the idea of entering into the web-based shirt configuration challenge. They started to begin with the rivalry plan of their own, but rather than recruiting a person; they asked the creators to pick the champ themselves.

“Source: Threadless: http://www.threadless.com”

How the company perform?

Individuals from the Threadless group present their shirt plans on the web, the plans are then put to a vote part. The defeater would vail a free Tees comprises of unique designs, whereas everyone would buy the shirt. But now, the threadless receives thousands of designs per week,out of which, just ten plans are casted which havemost unique and attractive designs to print and sell through an internet based store. The company also increases the quantity of incentives and gifts for the winner..............

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CROWDSOURCING Harvard Case Solution & Analysis