Crowdsourcing as a strategic IS sourcing phenomenon: Critical review and insights for future research

Fueled by the development of Internet-based platforms that provided its technological foundation, and the need for an agile and uniquely skilled workforce, crowdsourcing has grown from the grassroots, with a burgeoning body of research investigating its many aspects. To gain insight into organizational crowdsourcing as a strategic IS sourcing phenomenon, this paper thoroughly reviews the literature to identify both areas of saturation and gaps, with a focus on the strategic organizational context. Pulling together knowledge on specific aspects of crowdsourcing, we first offer a high-level analysis of definitions to reveal rather broad coverage of various activities involving the crowd, many of which do not involve sourcing. We further build on the literature to establish boundary conditions and clarify the focus on crowdsourcing. This is followed by an in-depth critical analysis of selected studies published in top IS and general management journals to date. Through this review, we identify key themes that emerge out of the crowdsourcing literature and synthesize the literature to chart a more focused research path moving forward. Guided by our analysis, we offer a road map for future research that brings together fine-grained insights from existing crowdsourcing studies towards developing a high-level, macro-perspective of the crowdsourcing phenomenon and its strategic impact.