Crowdsourcing: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Crowdsourcing is very relevant in the literature, because of its impact on the performance of organisations in the new virtual environment. Its importance is crucial in a world where e-commerce, new technologies and artificial intelligence are becoming more and more prevalent, and where organizations require the generation of new data and ideas that increasingly come from outside the organisations. This paper reviews the literature on crowdsourcing, analysing the main trends in the area. To do so, the paper uses different bibliometric techniques, as well as an in-depth literature review. The results indicate that the study of crowdsourcing has moved from a conceptual review to increasingly practical applications. Management, Computer science and secondy Geography and Psychology remain the main areas of research in the topic. Diverse sub-areas linked to "task analysis", "citizen science", "social media", and "machine learning" are preponderant. The paper highlights the managerial side of Crowdsourcing, with innovations related to the evolution of technological aplications related to the new ubiquitous web, and the personal aspects of the participants. The work helps to observe research trends and the various uses, potentials and key elements of their implementation, which is important for researchers and practitioners.