Tag Archives: Open Innovation Tools

What can crowds do?

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Eugene Ivanov

Since the publication, in 2004, of James Surowiecki’s highly influential book, “The Wisdom of Crowds,” the idea that large groups of people are smarter than a few individuals, however brilliant, has been gradually gaining prominence in academic circles, business communities … Continue reading →

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When many experts are too many

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Eugene Ivanov

In my earlier posts (here and here), I argued that when facing a complex technical or business problem the majority of organizations have a natural inclination to begin the problem-solving process with engaging experts, either internal (employees) or external (consultants). … Continue reading →

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Crowdsourcing: adding more diversity to your innovation process

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Eugene Ivanov

I think that today only a very stubborn few would deny a positive role that diversity plays in the marketplace. Studies abound pointing to better performance of companies promoting diversity in their ranks. For example, a 2015 McKinsey report on … Continue reading →

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Should we blame crowdsourcing for Quirky’s downfall?

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Eugene Ivanov

In December 2015 issue of Harvard Business Review, Sebastian Fixson and Tucker Marion attempted to figure out what went wrong with Quirky, a collaborative-invention platform that connects creative individuals with consumer product companies. Launched in 2009 and hailed as a … Continue reading →

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Matching crowdsourcing to specific stages of business model innovation

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Eugene Ivanov

(The original version of this piece was posted to the Qmarkets blog) I like to argue (for example, here) that one of the major reasons crowdsourcing has not yet become a mainstream innovation tool is a paralyzing uncertainty over the question … Continue reading →

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Open Innovation = Co-Creation + Crowdsourcing

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Eugene Ivanov

A good friend of mine Michael Docherty, the founder of the consulting and new ventures firm Venture 2 Inc. (and author of the highly-acclaimed book “Collective Disruption”), was interviewed recently by IdeaConnection’s Paul Arnold. (By way of shameless self-promotion, here … Continue reading →

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Crowdsourcing is a “sourcing” not just a “crowd”

Posted on November 5, 2016 by Eugene Ivanov

As I admitted on one occasion, I hate being a terminology cop. Yet my professional life, both as a bench scientist and innovation manager, provides plenty of examples of a mess that ensues when people start discussing things without first … Continue reading →

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We’re long past the stage of asking whether crowdsourcing can do this or that

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Eugene Ivanov

Recently, I came across an article describing how Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE is engaging its customers in crowdsourcing the design of a new device. I admit that it was the article’s title, not content, that caught my attention: “Can crowdsourcing … Continue reading →

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I know you, I know you not. (How we find experts.)

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Eugene Ivanov

In one of my previous posts I wrote that when facing a problem the majority of organizations have a natural inclination to begin the problem-solving process with engaging experts. Such an approach makes sense when an organization dealt with a … Continue reading →

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The first rule of crowdsourcing: know what you want, understand what you need

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Eugene Ivanov

I like to argue (for example, here) that the most important factor that defines the ultimate success or failure of any crowdsourcing campaign is the ability to properly identify and articulate the problem–technological, business or social–that the crowd will be … Continue reading →

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