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An evolution of crowdsourcing: Implications for marketing
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences. (Industrial Marketing)
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

By using the collective effort of individual customers or groups of customers (i.e., crowdsourcing), the firm can expand the resources to which it has access. One of the primary reasons for the growth of crowdsourcing is the advances and widespread growth of information and communications technologies (ICT), especially Web technologies, have led to an explosion of possible crowdsourcing and co-creation opportunities.

This research examines how this age of crowdsourcing has impacted privacy and the market for privacy. To crowdsource services at a high level often requires an exchange of personal data from the customer to the firm. This study builds three conceptual models that help describe the evolution of crowdsourcing personal information across three different timeframes. These three stages are based on the amount and the level of sophistication of the crowdsourcing processing of information externalities that result from market transactions between the consumer and the firm. Ultimately, through the crowdsourcing of personal and private information are advancing to the most advance stage whereby a digital twin of each consumer is created. This twin can be used in a predictive analytic process to forecast the thoughts, behaviors and future actions of each consumer.

Most research on crowdsourcing focuses on the first section (i.e., the marketing activities) and how crowdsourcing is a positive marketing technique. Much less research aims its attention on the consequences and/or potential negative aspects of crowdsourcing. This second study connects to the overarching research question as it is a conceptual study that explores the consequences of crowdsourcing for market for privacy.

Keywords [en]
crowdsourcing, marketing, privacy, digital twin, externalities
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Industrial Marketing
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-71715OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-71715DiVA, id: diva2:1265189
Available from: 2018-11-22 Created: 2018-11-22 Last updated: 2018-11-22
In thesis
1. An Evaluation of Crowdsourcing as a Tool  for Marketing Activities
Open this publication in new window or tab >>An Evaluation of Crowdsourcing as a Tool  for Marketing Activities
2019 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Advances in technology and social media have facilitated the rapid development of crowdsourcing as an innovative tool within the field of marketing. This has driven researchers to investigate more deeply the phenomenon of crowdsourcing as a marketing innovation. The overall purpose of this thesis is expressed as: To explore and describe the use of crowdsourcing within the field of marketing. More specifically, the primary purpose of the thesis is to understand better - How crowdsourcing can be used as a marketing tool. This thesis aims to illuminate the gap in the extant marketing literature by reviewing current academic knowledge surrounding crowdsourcing and marketing.  The use of the crowd as a marketing tool is growing primarily because of the advent of the Internet; however, as technology continues to advance the possibilities, challenges and side effects of crowdsourcing also change. These also need to be investigated continually. More specifically as digital marketing moves from a Web 2.0 environment to a Web 3.0 environment there will be new opportunities as well as pitfalls. As a result, new and relevant marketing problems exist at the nexus of crowdsourcing and marketing.

The research problem is sub-divided into the following four research questions:

  • RQ1:  To what extent are crowdfunding platforms accessible to organizations as a marketing channel and, if so, what role can these platforms play?
  • RQ2:  How will the shift from Web 2.0 (and active-user input) to Web 3.0

(and passive-data/sensor–based input) impact the new opportunities/product development process?

  • RQ3:  How can user-generated content help firms make strategic decisions about new business opportunities?
  • RQ4:  How is the evolution of crowdsourcing impacting information externalities and consumer privacy and how is this impacting marketing?

 This research is further divided into two sections. The first part investigates marketing activities specifically new opportunities/product development, advertising and promotion, and marketing research. The second section focuses on one of the possible repercussions of crowdsourcing in the marketing process. Most research on crowdsourcing focuses on the first section (i.e., the marketing activities) and how crowdsourcing is a positive marketing tool. Much less research aims its attention on the consequences and/or potential negative aspects of crowdsourcing.

This thesis consists of two published papers and two studies. Each project handles one of research questions. The first two papers and the first study focus on three marketing activities (i.e., advertising, promotion and sales, new product and service development, and market research). The second study focuses on one of the possible consequences of the growth of crowdsourcing as a tool in the marketing process.

While each paper and study has its own individual contributions, the overall contribution of this study is multi-fold. First, it develops a definition of crowdsourcing as: a tool or process by which the firm can increase or expand the resources to which it has access to by using the collective effort of a group of individuals or organizations. Second, as a result of these four research projects, crowdsourcing can further be seen as a situational, contextual and flexible tool that can be used in many different organizational contexts. The specific context for this thesis is marketing and as a result, crowdsourcing can play a wide variety of marketing roles.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Luleå: Luleå University of Technology, 2019
Series
Doctoral thesis / Luleå University of Technology 1 jan 1997 → …, ISSN 1402-1544
Keywords
Crowdsourcing, Marketing activities, Crowdfunding, User-generated content, Demand-side strategy, Predictive marketing, Consumer privacy
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Industrial Marketing
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-71716 (URN)978-91-7790-274-4 (ISBN)978-91-7790-275-1 (ISBN)
Public defence
2019-02-25, A109, Luleå, 10:30 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2018-11-22 Created: 2018-11-22 Last updated: 2019-02-14Bibliographically approved

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Citation style
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