Crowd-Based Sourcing: Global Search and the Twisted Roles of Consumers and Producers

Description

Crowdsourcing is a fast growing way of sourcing work: a ‘call’ is broadcasted to a large crowd; subsequently the respective task is executed by one, a few or many selected re-sponders. We discuss the conditions, under which crowdsourcing occurs. Crowdsourcing creates value by enabling ‘global search’, thereby tapping into excess capacities at the margins of the work realm and channeling them towards production. Provision and utilization of these excess capacities are intimately tied to a broader societal trend that twists the roles of consumers and producers: leading towards ‘working consumers’ and ‘consuming producers’, and shifting power towards the latter. In addition, some producers stage crowdsourcing to disguise their traditional approaches to shape consumers preferences. We conclude by identifying topics for further research, most importantly three areas of collective action that can remedy potential injustice associated with crowdsourcing.

Period	28 Jul 2014
Event title	12th International Open and User Workshop
Event type	Conference
Location	United StatesShow on map