D.B.A.  Baker College (Michigan), 2012.
Specialization: Information technology

Crowdsourcing: Demonstrating innovation in a desktop management environment
170 pages. UMI #: AAT 3521633
Bibliographic Record in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database

Information technology (IT) service organizations are engaged by customers to perform the day-to-day management of the firm's desktop environment. The use of crowdsourcing to capture innovative ideas on how to improve a desktop service organization was an intriguing concept. Crowdsourcing provides a means to gain collective intelligence by using an online group of people. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how crowdsourcing techniques nurtured the development of innovative ideas toward the improvement of a desktop management environment for a global corporation. Participants were individuals who support a corporate desktop environment. Research questions explored how ideas suggested by the crowd contributed to innovation, how crowd control techniques affected the crowd's creativity, and why individuals participated in crowdsourcing. The study was based on the idea innovation model. Data collection involved individual interviews. The research results demonstrated that crowdsourcing campaigns can produce innovative ideas. Although the crowd did not have the ability to vote and determine the winning innovative ideas, the campaign was perceived to have value throughout the organization. The innovation model, initially thought to be a value for future innovative campaigns, failed to produce results due to a flaw in the crowd voting process. The results showed that employees were engaged and ready to support the next generation of desktop management and demonstrated crowdsourcing as a viable option to acquire collective intelligence to solve an organizational business problem. Suggestions for further research include an investigation of the impact crowdsourcing techniques would have on innovation for different service offerings and on employee engagement over time.

• John Hannon, DBA., Chair
• Dani Babb, Ph.D.
• Mary Dereshiwsky, Ph.D.