Abstract
Lean start-up approach provides both small and larger companies a novel, important and useful way to organize their business development, while reducing related high risks. Traditional start-ups face a multitude of significant challenges and risks. A study by Ghosh showed that as many as 75% of all start-ups fail. Earlier research has preliminarily demonstrated that crowdsourcing has the potential to reduce the risks of failure of start-ups, as well as overcome some of the inherent challenges lean start-ups face. We argue that crowdsourcing can significantly improve the leanness and agility of start-ups’ business functions.
Highlights
Crowdsourcing (Howe, 2006; Howe, 2008) has been one of the driving forces of change in many fields of life, from the approaches toorganise aid of volunteers during natural catastrophes to crowdsourcing the whole software design & development and marketing of a mobile phone
Some studies have referred to crowdfunding as a possibility for start-ups (e.g. Blank, 2013; Cornell, 2014), but they have not studied the possibilities of crowdsourcing in more depth
Some studies have referred to crowdfunding as a possibility for startups (e.g. Blank, 2013; Cornell, 2014), but they have not studied the possibilities of crowdsourcing in more depth
Summary
Crowdsourcing (Howe, 2006; Howe, 2008) has been one of the driving forces of change in many fields of life, from the approaches to (self-)organise aid of volunteers during natural catastrophes to crowdsourcing the whole software design & development and marketing of a mobile phone. It’s an umbrella term for a highly varied group of approaches that share one obvious attribute in common: they all depend on some contribution from the crowd”. This contribution can consist of one or several of the following: ideas, concepts, information, knowledge, working time, financing, or other resources (Helander, Jussila, & Kärkkäinen, 2013). One widely accepted useful definition that describes the concept of crowdsourcing is by Jeff Howe (2008) This definition describes crowdsourcing as an “act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.”. Some studies have referred to crowdfunding as a possibility for start-ups (e.g. Blank, 2013; Cornell, 2014), but they have not studied the possibilities of crowdsourcing in more depth
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