Rethinking crowdsourcing: social ties can skew results

Organizations should be aware of social bias, a potential hazard when firms look to consumers for opinions when conducting crowdsourced innovation practices. One problem that can occur is reciprocation: when an individual likes another's idea, the person who posted the idea in turn tends to like the idea the other individual posted, compromising the meritocracy of the results. Hence, online consumer voting is not a true indicator of the actual quality of an idea. By selecting a crowd which can bring specific expertise to a given issue, organizations can optimize crowdsourcing benefits and reduce social bias. The article includes a brief interview on crowdsourcing with Silvan Brauen, head of business development at Swiss soft-drinks firm Rivella.