Managing Complex Work Systems via Crowdworking Platforms: The Case of Hamburger Hochbahn and Phantominds

Abstract

In the last decade, crowdsourcing has emerged as a new form of work organization. Crowdworking platforms as intermediaries between crowdsourcing companies and crowd workers have gained importance in this process. Currently, many of these platforms manage rather simple work systems. Using the case of the German Hamburger Hochbahn AG and the innovation platform Phantominds, this paper investigates measures necessary for crowdworking platforms to be able to manage also more complex work systems. To derive such measures, we analyze the work system of Hamburger Hochbahn and Phantominds, explore the interplay between the crowd and the platform provider and subsequently provide recommendations for companies that would like to use crowdworking platforms for the processing of work and for platform operators. With this paper, we extend current knowledge in the realms of IS, organizational theory, and platform ecosystems.