Abstract

Theories of crowdsourced search suggest that firms should limit the search space from which solutions to the problem may be drawn by constraining the problem definition. In turn, problems that are not or cannot be constrained should be tackled through other means of innovation. We propose that unconstrained problems can be crowdsourced, but firms need to govern the crowds differently. Specifically, we hypothesize that firms should govern crowds for solving unconstrained problems by instructing them not just to solve the problem but also to help (re)define the problem by offering their problem frames and integrating others’ frames. We find evidence for this interaction hypothesis in a field study of over a thousand participants in 20 different crowdsourcing events with interventions for the different governance approaches.

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• Keyword(s):
• strategy and entrepreneurship 179

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