Social interdependence on idea crowdsourcing platforms

As part of embracing open innovation, many organizations have set up innovation contests to gather creative ideas generated by online users. Some of these contests are deployed on coopetitive platforms which are based on hybrid models with the aim of promoting a combination of competition and cooperation. In this paper, we apply the social interdependence theory framework to analyze how the co-opetition model impacts the modes of individual interactions and how these interaction patterns influence the creative process and outcomes. Social interdependence exists when individuals share common goals and each individual’s outcomes are affected by the actions of others. By adding collaborative features, we demonstrate that crowdsourcing platforms can positively impact the creative process and nudge the nature of competition along constructive lines. Resource interdependence seems to contribute to individual achievement supported by group members even while individual members pursue their personal goals.