An Introduction to Crowdsourced Innovation
„Crowdsourcing and Open Innovation had already been around for a while when we founded innosabi. The terms were appearing on management agendas and enthusiastic advocates were proclaiming it as the next big thing in business. However, we quickly realized that in most cases the concepts remained little more than buzzwords. Being closely associated with the entrepreneurial spirit and dynamic of start-ups, many companies used these methods to convey a progressive image. The actual implementations were disappointing and left much to be desired.
Being convinced of the potential of Crowdsourcing and Open Innovation, we tried to determine why this was happening. We always came back to two simple reasons. First, companies failed to give the projects a proper purpose and strategic importance. Instead, Crowdsourcing and Open Innovation were mostly insignificant additions to existing structures or processes without being properly embedded in them. Second, without Crowdsourcing an Open Innovation strategy will not reach its full potential. The power lies in their combination. This became and still is our vision – an approach we termed Crowdsourced Innovation.“
„Seeking knowledge, ideas, and collaboration outside of corporate boundaries typically happens in loose and decentralized networks, connected through web technology. By giving theses loose flows of information a strategic framework and connecting Crowdsourcing and Open Innovation, companies can increase the rate of success for their new products, services and even business models as they begin to focus on user needs early on and devote their development capacities to those research projects which are most promising.“
Sourcing from the Crowd
„Crowdsourced Innovation only happens when it is possible to tap into a relevant crowd; a group of individuals who possess knowledge, skills, or resources required for the innovation process. Several successful companies with often disruptive business models have already evolved around the concept of reaching relevant crowds.“
Connecting the Crowd
„Connecting the crowd – and going beyond merely sourcing from the crowd – has triggered a social revolution. Social media has used this mechanism to connect users, who have personal relationships or similar interests and are willing to share their experiences. These communities foster constant dialogue, not necessarily pursuing a common goal or task – the connection and communication between individuals and networks creates value in itself.“
Revolutionizing Open Innovation with Crowdsourcing
„Traditionally internal R&D departments using insights from sales and marketing have dominated the development of innovative products, services or business models. In most cases, companies do this in isolation, behind closed doors – closed innovation, as it is called.
In contrast to this, Open Innovation techniques – first described by Henry Chesbrough – have been developed to access skills and knowledge outside the boundaries of a company. […] Opening innovation processes to increase the success of innovation activities have long been employed in companies, very often in the form of workshops or other offline activities.
Today however, it has never been easier to reach thousands of interested and motivated individuals for meaningful collaboration. Crowdsourcing with all its aspects supercharges and revolutionizes Open Innovation approaches, utilizing the potential of the web. We call this CROWDSOURCED INNOVATION.“
Der vorangegangene Text besteht aus Ausschnitten aus unserem 2014 erschienenen Buch “Crowdsourced Innovation – Revolutionizing Open Innovation with Crowdsourcing”.
Gerne können sie das Buch bei Amazon oder direkt bei uns bestellen: csi@innosabi.com