Prior research on user behavior in online innovation contests has mainly focused on factors that positively impact prosocial, collaborative behavior, which should ultimately lead to innovative outcomes. However, little is known about the effects of more negative personal characteristics that might result in more competitive, antisocial, and even unethical behavior. This paper considers Machiavellianism as one of the traits that constitute the Òdark triad of personalityÓ and explores the relationship between Machiavellianism and participants' contribution behavior in online innovation contests. Specifically we investigate how Machiavellian characteristics influence individuals' contribution intensity, communication, and interaction behavior within the contest community as well as the quality and kind of their contributions. This study relies on multisource individual-level data from a large innovation contest in the field of public transportation. We find that the three dimensions of MachiavellianismÑdistrust of others, amorality, and desire for statusÑhave very distinct behavioral consequences in the context of online innovation contests. Specifically, the oppositional consequences of amoral manipulation and striving for status on the one hand and showing distrust of others on the other hand concerning contribution quantity and contribution quality are found. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of negative personality traits such as Machiavellianism as powerful predictors of behavior and of success within competitive innovation environments and leads to important managerial implications regarding the design and management of innovation contests. > >
Organizations increasingly initiate Internet-based innovation-contest communities through which individuals can interact and contribute to the innovation process. To successfully manage these communities, organizations need to understand what roles members assume, how they communicate and vary in their contribution behavior. In this exploratory study, we investigate the heterogeneous roles of contest participants based on an international innovation-contest community. We identify six user types associated with various behavioral contribution patterns by using cluster and social network analysis. The six user types further differ in their communicative content and contribution quality. Our paper contributes to a better theoretical understanding of distinctive user types in innovation-contest communities, their role in the community, and their contribution to the success of innovation contests in the era of social software. From a managerial perspective, the study provides guidance for contest platform design and appropriate reward structures.
Emerging virtual worlds, such as the prominent Second Life, offer unprecedented opportunities for companies to collaborate with co-creating users. However, pioneering corporate co-creation systems fail to attract a satisfying level of participation and engagement. The experience users have with the co-creation system is the key to making virtual places a vibrant source of great connections, creativity, and co-creation. While prior research on co-creation serves as a foundation for this work, it does not provide adequate guidance on how to design co-creation systems in virtual worlds. To address this shortcoming, a 20-month action research project was conducted to study the user's experience and to identify design principles for virtual co-creation systems. In two action research cycles, a virtual co-creation system called Ideation Quest was created, deployed, evaluated, and improved. The study reveals how to design co-creation systems and enriches research on co-creation to fit the virtual world context. Practitioners receive a helpful framework to leverage virtual worlds for co-creation.
Cost-efficient and multimedia-rich interaction opportunities offered by the Internet and the existence of online communities have made virtual co-creation a suitable means of creating value and improving the overall success of new products. Information technology enables new forms of producer--consumer collaboration in new product development processes. However, little research exists on consumers' experiences during virtual co-creation tasks. Drawing on the literature on organizational behavior, we introduce the construct of consumer empowerment to describe consumers' perceived influence on product design and decision making. This paper presents the first large-scale empirical study investigating how consumers are empowered through Internet-based co-creation activities. To analyze the impact of applied interaction tools, 727 consumers having taken part in virtual co-creation projects were asked about their experienced tool support, their perceived empowerment, how much they enjoyed the task, and their readiness to participate in future co-creation opportunities. The results show that consumers engaging in co-creation feel more or less empowered. The level of experienced empowerment depends on the design of the applied virtual interaction tool, the related enjoyment of the virtual interaction, the participants' task and product involvement, as well as their creativity and lead-user characteristics. The design of the interaction tool determines to what extent consumers with varying capabilities are able to solve the assigned co-creation task. It determines the consumers' perceived empowerment and experienced enjoyment. Both the levels of perceived empowerment and enjoyment have a strong impact on the consumers' willingness to participate in future virtual new product development projects. These findings contribute to a better understanding of antecedents and consequences of successful consumer co-creation. They provide recommendations on how to design a compelling virtual new product co-creation experience.