Balancing openness and control to improve the performance of crowdsourcing contests for product innovation: A configurational perspective

Abstract This study inductively explores the interplay between openness and control and their impact on the performance of crowdsourcing contests for product innovation. Building on an analysis of crowdsourcing literature, we conceptualize openness and control in terms of six management practices: rewards, feedback, community building, access restrictions, task instructions and evaluation rights. For greater clarity on the units of analysis, an explicit distinction is made between different contextual settings in terms of the locus of innovation, i.e., core or peripheral subsystem innovation. A sample of 159 crowdsourcing contests for consumer electronics innovation is analyzed through a configurational approach, which identifies four high-performing solutions. The results indicate that openness and control are deeply interrelated and their appropriate combination may depend on the locus of innovation. Propositions associated with the openness/control issue of crowdsourcing contests are developed according to the results. The findings provide integrative insights into how particular combinations of management practices can help strike the right balance between openness and control in crowdsourcing contests.