Crowdsourcing and open innovation: a systematic literature review, an integrated framework and a research agenda

Embracing supply chain digitalization and unphysicalization to enhance supply chain performance: a conceptual framework

Purpose

The paper presents a research methodology that could be used to carry out a systematic literature review on the current state of the art of the technological development in the field of the digitalization and unphysicalization of supply chains (SCs). A three-dimensional conceptual framework focusing on the relationship between Digital Technologies (DTs), business processes and SC performance is presented. The study identifies the emerging practices and areas of SC management that could be positively affected by the implementation of DTs. With this in mind, the emerging practices have a high probability to be considered future best practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was conducted on DTs in SC management. The methodology used aims to algorithmically and objectively standardize the information incorporated into thousands of scientific documents. Selected papers were analyzed to investigate the recent literature on SC digitalization and unphysicalization. A total of 87 DTs were selected to be analyzed and subsequently grouped into 11 macro-categories. 17 business processes linked to SC management are taken into account and 17 different impacts on SC management are presented. From a set of 1,585 papers, 5,060 emerging practices were collected and singularly summarized combining DT, business process and impact on SC performance.

Findings

A unique analytical perspective provided represents an important evolution when trying to organize the current literature on SC management. The widely used DTs in the practices and the most considered business processes and impacts are highlighted and described. The three-dimensional conceptual framework is graphically represented to allow for the emergence of the best combinations of DT, business process and impact on SC performance. These combinations suggest the most promising areas for the implementation of the emerging practices for SC digitalization and unphysicalization. Additional findings identify and define the most important contexts in which Big Data contributes to SC performance.

Originality/value

The research methodology used is offering progress through which to systemize the current practices as well as detect the potential of digitalization and unphysicalization under the three-dimensional conceptual framework. The paper provides a structured proposal for promising future research directions, assuming that the five research gaps as findings of this research could be the basis for prescriptions, as well as a future research agenda and theory development. Moreover, this research contributes to current managerial issues concerning SC management, referred to data and information management, efficiency and productivity of SC processes, market performance, SC relationship management and risk management in SC.

Open innovation: status quo and quo vadis - an analysis of a research field

Open innovation is now a widely used concept in academia, industry, and policy-making. According to the recent report “The Open Innovation Barometer”, released by the Economist, 90% of organizations have either adopted or are planning to implement key open innovation practices by opening up their organizational boundaries to collaborative innovation in the next three years (The Economist Group 2022). However, the social and economic changes imposed by the emerging processes of transition towards a more digital and sustainable society raise questions on how the open innovation field of studies is evolving to meet new, emerging needs. By combining bibliometric techniques and content analysis, this study illustrates how this research community has evolved in the last 12 years. More specifically, this study provides a descriptive analysis of the literature on open innovation, defines its knowledge structure, and illustrates a representative picture of the theoretical landscape. Our analysis shows that attempts to consolidate established topics and theoretical approaches in this field of studies go hand in hand with the emergence of new conversations about unexplored dimensions of open innovation. We conclude this article by outlining some avenues for future research on how to conceptualize, theorize, and research (methods and analytical techniques) open innovation.

A framework for evaluation of crowdsourcing platforms performance

This study aims to identify an appropriate conceptual framework to evaluate crowdsourcing platforms from an open innovation perspective employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The initial indices of the performance evaluation framework in the crowdsourcing platforms are obtained through the Delphi method and interviews with experts. Then, using these factors, a statistical questionnaire is designed and distributed among users of crowdsourcing platforms to confirm or reject the factors. Finally, the aspects of the performance evaluation framework of crowdsourcing platforms are specified from the perspective of open innovation. Using fuzzy hierarchical analysis, these aspects are prioritized in order of importance: Collaboration, Project design, Moderation, Terms and conditions, UI/UX (user interface and user experience), and Key statistics. Concerning the principle of crowdsourcing, which is based on crowd participation and crowd intelligence of users, Collaboration and Project design turned out to be the significant factors in evaluating a crowdsourcing platform.

Understanding crowdsourcing in science

Over the past 16 years, the concept of crowdsourcing has rapidly gained traction across many research fields. While related debates focused mainly on its importance for business, the public and non-governmental sectors, its relevance for generating scientific knowledge is increasingly emphasized. This rising interest remains in contradiction with its feeble recognition, and excessive simplifications reducing crowdsourcing in science to citizen science. Conceptual clarity and a coherent framework would help integrate the various research streams. The aim of this paper is to extend reflection on crowdsourcing in science by analyzing the characteristics of the phenomenon. We synthesize a consensual definition from the literature, and structure key characteristics into a coherent framework, useful in guiding further research. We use a systematic literature review procedure to generate a pool of 42 definitions from a comprehensive set of 62 articles spanning different literatures, including: business and economics, education, psychology, biology, and communication studies. We follow a mixed-method approach that combines bibliometric and frequency analyses with deductive coding and thematic analysis. Based on triangulated results we develop an integrative definition: crowdsourcing in science is a collaborative online process through which scientists involve a group of self-selected individuals of varying, diverse knowledge and skills, via an open call to the Internet and/or online platforms, to undertake a specified research task or set of tasks. We also provide a conceptual framework that covers four key characteristics: initiator, crowd, process, and technology.

Raising the competitiveness and sustainability of a company in the context of digitalisation based on human resource capacity

An innovative business model is the key to raising competitiveness and sustainability of a company in the context of rapid technological development and digitalisation. The model in question has to be bimodal with the company taking a proactive approach to modifcations based on soft management and human capital. Hence, it is an employee who plays the most crucial role in the innovation process in the modern world. Besides that, today’s managerial system must support personnel’s innovative potential and consider their incentives. This, in turn, leads to both higher efciency in total and qualitative multiplicative effect when it comes to company’s competitive environment that quickly and accurately ensures high adaptability to external challenges and crises. The outcome of introducing innovations hinges on how an industry works, which is determined not only by its history but largely by the current state and level of corporate culture. In the course of the innovation process within the company other than optimizations for the economic benefts, decisions on changes in quality matter as well: safety and reliability, comfortable working conditions boosting productivity, higher quality and level of service (internal and external), corporate trainings and human development.

Investigating the role of crowdsourcing in improving the quality of production processes: a systematic literature review

Purpose

In recent years, crowdsourcing – an open and innovative model for outsourcing tasks to a crowd – has become popular for production processes, allowing organizations and firms in different industries to access external skills and expertise efficiently. Companies have opened their innovation processes to crowds outside their boundaries, and users and customers are often involved in developing products in line with market needs. This work aims to investigate the link between crowdsourcing, production and quality to better understand this new interesting phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

An explicit and systematic method for reviewing the literature was used. Through the selection and analysis of the relevant articles in the field, this paper presents a comprehensive overview of the pros and cons, risks and opportunities, disadvantages, or concerns, as addressed in the literature, for the adoption of crowdsourcing in the production processes.

Findings

It identifies where, how and to what extent crowdsourcing can be applied profitably within the production of products and services, highlighting how crowdsourcing could affect product and process quality. Finally, some directions for future research are outlined from the analysis conducted.

Originality/value

This work applied the systematic literature review to investigate and evaluate the actual use and impact of crowdsourcing on the production process, focusing on quality enhancement contribution.