Seekers’ and Solvers’ Interaction Design Preferences for Open Innovation Platforms

Academy of Management Proceedings, vol. 2021, pp. 12654

Abstract

Crowdsourcing is an open innovation mechanism by which organizations (solution seekers) engage in knowledge exchange with individual problem solvers via digital platforms. This study applies a discrete choice experiment with 842 respondents to examine seekers’ and solvers’ preferences for designing the interaction on open innovation platforms, and how these preferences shape the processes for creating and capturing value. More specifically, we investigate under which conditions seekers are inclined to accept the platform design features that are important for solvers to create and capture value. Taking a microfoundations perspective, we explore the role of social trust, risk aversion and the need for cognition of seekers and solvers in their choice on how to engage in open innovation activities on platforms. We explore potentially contradicting interaction design preferences of seekers and solvers in order to balance value creation and value capture to sustain their platform participation. In doing so, we contribute to our limited understanding of the microfoundations of open innovation. With our empirical approach, we propose a way to conceptualize, operationalize and measure open innovation value processes in a crowdsourcing context from a social exchange perspective. Social exchange theory provides a novel angle for addressing the interaction between seekers and solvers to improve the balance and sustainability of open innovation value processes.

Authors 3

1. Anja Leckel Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen U

2. Krithika Randhawa

   University of Technology Sydney

   Affiliation as printed

   U. of Technology, Sydney

3. Frank Thomas Piller Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen U