Cultivating the wisdom of personnel through internal crowdsourcing

The paper focuses on internal crowdsourcing as a key mechanism through which human resources can be integrated into innovation processes. The theoretical part of the study outlines internal crowdsourcing as a form of co-creation and integrates this with a practice-based view of innovation. In our multiple case study, we examine participatory innovation practice and related activities in three large organisations. We collected data from three different groups of people representing the personnel of these organisations. The analysis was based on qualitative content analysis and comparison of the cases. In our study, we divided the co-creation process into three phases: 1) co-ideation; 2) co-evaluation; 3) co-upgrading/idea redevelopment. The analysis shows that each phase included a number of specific activities necessary to enhance both creativity and efficiency in the process. For innovative companies and their managers, the study offers practical insights into how they can cultivate the wisdom of their personnel.