Cris Ehmann | Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (original) (raw)
Papers by Cris Ehmann
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012
The first industrial revolution began with the mechanisation of tasks accomplished previously by ... more The first industrial revolution began with the mechanisation of tasks accomplished previously by hand. The second one was started by mass production and resulting consumer economy. Now a third industrial revolution seems to herald a new age, in which consumers do not only consume but also produce products and services tailored to their individual requirements. This is facilitated mainly through people’s access to open digital networks, in which everyone can express their wishes. Crowdsourcing is such a digital tool that allows the expression of personal demands and online collaboration to reach a common purpose. Manuel de Landa’s philosophical thoughts have predicted that such open networks will cause disruptive paradigm shifts. This led me to formulate the following question: How disruptive have been the creative results reached so far through the deployment of crowdsourcing tools?An extensive research has uncovered that the results are not that innovative, let alone disruptive. The possible reasons for this are manifold. The main cause could lie in the sponsors of crowdsourcing initiatives. On one hand they do not follow this type of purpose. It is mainly utilised to create promotional campaigns and new product or service development with incremental character. On the other hand innovative outputs are rejected due to its misalignment with the prevailing order of things.Another possible reason is the programmatic way in which crowdsourcing initiatives form a small component of a a linear, milestone-based change process. It is used as a tool only for sourcing ideas. No information has indicated that the crowdsourcing tool is being used for exploration of a problem, gaining insights into human behaviour, or experimentation with conceptual prototypes. Initiatives are usually one-off events. Sponsors don’t seem to engage more than once to launch reiterative challenges in order to allow for a concept to develop.Furthermore research has shown that the tools need to be adjusted in order to render more innovative results. The necessary diversity of the crowd contributing ideas is rather low and the tools do not have mechanisms that ensure a higher degree of diversity. In addition the tools do not motivate the participants to initiate and maintain a fruitful creative interaction. This is made evident through the possibility to give final judgments early in the interactive process and the lack of mechanisms that allow concurrent and private work streams.Single outputs, however, have proved that crowdsourcing has a high disruptive potential. In order to profit from this potential three things need to change: First sponsoring organisations will need to change their attitude and become more experimental and ready to embrace risk and failure; second, the tools will need to reach a higher degree of sophistication, and lastly the crowdsourcing tool needs to be deployed including design processes.Last but not least the research has also uncovered that the crowdsourcing in general is a disruptive tool in itself because it can and does actually replace already many functions performed by established organisations. A combination of these could lead to a fully crowdsourced enterprise.
Grazie alla tecnologia le persone sono più connesse tra loro e possono auto-organizzarsi e preten... more Grazie alla tecnologia le persone sono più connesse tra loro e possono auto-organizzarsi e pretendere una maggiore partecipazione ai processi decisionali. Occupy Wall Street e il più recente movimento di pro- testa in Brasile, possono essere considerati come due espressioni di questa volontà. In questo nuovo con- testo il crowdsourcing si è rivelato uno strumento utile essendo orientato al raggiungimento degli obiettivi e perfettamente compatibile con i tradizionali e pre- dominanti approcci gestionali top-down. Permette alle aziende di attingere alla creatività collettiva delle masse senza però privare le persone della pos- sibilità di partecipare anche se il grande pubblico e gli sponsor delle iniziative di crowdsourcing non sono ancora del tutto in linea tra loro. Un’altra possibile ra- gione di questo disallineamento riguarda il modo sche- matico in cui le iniziative di crowdsourcing vengono inserite, giocando solo un piccolo ruolo, in un processo di cambiamento lineare, basato su tappe si- gnificative, invece di venir utilizzate quale parte del processo di progettazione.
With each paradigm shift the world changes radically. People and organisations need to adapt to t... more With each paradigm shift the world changes radically. People and organisations need to adapt to the new circumstances. The world as we know it is changing rapidly and is shifting from a consumer to a creator economy. In this third industrial revolution consumers do not only consume but also produce products and services tailored to their individual requirements. This is facilitated mainly through people’s access to open digital networks, in which everyone can express their wishes. Within this context organisations have difficulties finding, identifying and accepting new ideas.
Crowdsourcing has proved to be a useful tool for this new era because it is goal oriented and compatible with prevailing top- down, traditional management structures. It allows companies to tap into the creative and collective mind of the masses whilst still allowing people to fulfil their participatory role.
However, extensive research has uncovered that crowds and the sponsor of crowdsourcing initiatives are still not optimally aligned. The possible reasons for this are manifold. The main cause could lie in the sponsors. Crowdsourcing is mainly utilised to create promotional campaigns and new product or service development with incremental change yet disruptive outputs are rejected due to their misalignment with the prevailing order of things.
Another possible reason is the programmatic way in which crowdsourcing initiatives form a small component of a linear, milestone-based change process. It is used as a tool only for sourcing ideas. No information has indicated that the crowdsourcing tool is being used for exploration of a problem, gaining insights into human behaviour, or experimentation with conceptual prototypes. Initiatives are usually one-off events. Sponsors don’t seem to engage more than once to launch reiterative challenges in order to allow for a concept to develop.
Furthermore, research has shown that the tools need to be adjusted in order to render more aligned results. The necessary diversity of the crowd contributing ideas is rather low and the tools do not have mechanisms that ensure a higher degree of diversity. In addition the tools do not motivate the participants to initiate and maintain a fruitful creative interaction. This is made evident through the possibility of giving final judgments early in the interactive process and the lack of mechanisms that allow concurrent and private work streams.
In order to profit from the potential that crowdsourcing has to offer, three things need to change:
1. Sponsoring organisations will need to change their attitude and become more experimental and ready to embrace risk and failure
2. The tools will need to reach a higher degree of sophistication
3. The crowdsourcing tool needs to be deployed as part of the design process.
Last but not least the research has also uncovered that crowdsourcing in general is a disruptive tool in itself because it can, and does, actually replace many functions performed by established organisations. A combination of these could lead to a fully crowdsourced enterprise.
This paper answers many questions I have received by eMail asking me about the course of MA Innov... more This paper answers many questions I have received by eMail asking me about the course of MA Innovation Management at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
With each paradigm shift people and organisations need to adapt to a radically changed world. The... more With each paradigm shift people and organisations need to adapt to a radically changed world. The world we know is changing rapidly and is shifting from a consumer to a creator economy. In this third industrial revolution consumers do not only consume but also produce products and services tailored to their individual requirements. This is facilitated mainly through people’s access to open digital networks, in which everyone can express their wishes. Within this context, organisations have difficulties finding, identifying and accepting new ideas.
Crowdsourcing has proved to be aligned with this new condition because it is goal oriented and it is compatible with the prevailing top-down, traditional management structures. It allows companies to tap into the creative and collective mind of the masses whilst still allowing people to fulfil their participatory role.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012
The first industrial revolution began with the mechanisation of tasks accomplished previously by ... more The first industrial revolution began with the mechanisation of tasks accomplished previously by hand. The second one was started by mass production and resulting consumer economy. Now a third industrial revolution seems to herald a new age, in which consumers do not only consume but also produce products and services tailored to their individual requirements. This is facilitated mainly through people’s access to open digital networks, in which everyone can express their wishes. Crowdsourcing is such a digital tool that allows the expression of personal demands and online collaboration to reach a common purpose. Manuel de Landa’s philosophical thoughts have predicted that such open networks will cause disruptive paradigm shifts. This led me to formulate the following question: How disruptive have been the creative results reached so far through the deployment of crowdsourcing tools?An extensive research has uncovered that the results are not that innovative, let alone disruptive. The possible reasons for this are manifold. The main cause could lie in the sponsors of crowdsourcing initiatives. On one hand they do not follow this type of purpose. It is mainly utilised to create promotional campaigns and new product or service development with incremental character. On the other hand innovative outputs are rejected due to its misalignment with the prevailing order of things.Another possible reason is the programmatic way in which crowdsourcing initiatives form a small component of a a linear, milestone-based change process. It is used as a tool only for sourcing ideas. No information has indicated that the crowdsourcing tool is being used for exploration of a problem, gaining insights into human behaviour, or experimentation with conceptual prototypes. Initiatives are usually one-off events. Sponsors don’t seem to engage more than once to launch reiterative challenges in order to allow for a concept to develop.Furthermore research has shown that the tools need to be adjusted in order to render more innovative results. The necessary diversity of the crowd contributing ideas is rather low and the tools do not have mechanisms that ensure a higher degree of diversity. In addition the tools do not motivate the participants to initiate and maintain a fruitful creative interaction. This is made evident through the possibility to give final judgments early in the interactive process and the lack of mechanisms that allow concurrent and private work streams.Single outputs, however, have proved that crowdsourcing has a high disruptive potential. In order to profit from this potential three things need to change: First sponsoring organisations will need to change their attitude and become more experimental and ready to embrace risk and failure; second, the tools will need to reach a higher degree of sophistication, and lastly the crowdsourcing tool needs to be deployed including design processes.Last but not least the research has also uncovered that the crowdsourcing in general is a disruptive tool in itself because it can and does actually replace already many functions performed by established organisations. A combination of these could lead to a fully crowdsourced enterprise.
Grazie alla tecnologia le persone sono più connesse tra loro e possono auto-organizzarsi e preten... more Grazie alla tecnologia le persone sono più connesse tra loro e possono auto-organizzarsi e pretendere una maggiore partecipazione ai processi decisionali. Occupy Wall Street e il più recente movimento di pro- testa in Brasile, possono essere considerati come due espressioni di questa volontà. In questo nuovo con- testo il crowdsourcing si è rivelato uno strumento utile essendo orientato al raggiungimento degli obiettivi e perfettamente compatibile con i tradizionali e pre- dominanti approcci gestionali top-down. Permette alle aziende di attingere alla creatività collettiva delle masse senza però privare le persone della pos- sibilità di partecipare anche se il grande pubblico e gli sponsor delle iniziative di crowdsourcing non sono ancora del tutto in linea tra loro. Un’altra possibile ra- gione di questo disallineamento riguarda il modo sche- matico in cui le iniziative di crowdsourcing vengono inserite, giocando solo un piccolo ruolo, in un processo di cambiamento lineare, basato su tappe si- gnificative, invece di venir utilizzate quale parte del processo di progettazione.
With each paradigm shift the world changes radically. People and organisations need to adapt to t... more With each paradigm shift the world changes radically. People and organisations need to adapt to the new circumstances. The world as we know it is changing rapidly and is shifting from a consumer to a creator economy. In this third industrial revolution consumers do not only consume but also produce products and services tailored to their individual requirements. This is facilitated mainly through people’s access to open digital networks, in which everyone can express their wishes. Within this context organisations have difficulties finding, identifying and accepting new ideas.
Crowdsourcing has proved to be a useful tool for this new era because it is goal oriented and compatible with prevailing top- down, traditional management structures. It allows companies to tap into the creative and collective mind of the masses whilst still allowing people to fulfil their participatory role.
However, extensive research has uncovered that crowds and the sponsor of crowdsourcing initiatives are still not optimally aligned. The possible reasons for this are manifold. The main cause could lie in the sponsors. Crowdsourcing is mainly utilised to create promotional campaigns and new product or service development with incremental change yet disruptive outputs are rejected due to their misalignment with the prevailing order of things.
Another possible reason is the programmatic way in which crowdsourcing initiatives form a small component of a linear, milestone-based change process. It is used as a tool only for sourcing ideas. No information has indicated that the crowdsourcing tool is being used for exploration of a problem, gaining insights into human behaviour, or experimentation with conceptual prototypes. Initiatives are usually one-off events. Sponsors don’t seem to engage more than once to launch reiterative challenges in order to allow for a concept to develop.
Furthermore, research has shown that the tools need to be adjusted in order to render more aligned results. The necessary diversity of the crowd contributing ideas is rather low and the tools do not have mechanisms that ensure a higher degree of diversity. In addition the tools do not motivate the participants to initiate and maintain a fruitful creative interaction. This is made evident through the possibility of giving final judgments early in the interactive process and the lack of mechanisms that allow concurrent and private work streams.
In order to profit from the potential that crowdsourcing has to offer, three things need to change:
1. Sponsoring organisations will need to change their attitude and become more experimental and ready to embrace risk and failure
2. The tools will need to reach a higher degree of sophistication
3. The crowdsourcing tool needs to be deployed as part of the design process.
Last but not least the research has also uncovered that crowdsourcing in general is a disruptive tool in itself because it can, and does, actually replace many functions performed by established organisations. A combination of these could lead to a fully crowdsourced enterprise.
This paper answers many questions I have received by eMail asking me about the course of MA Innov... more This paper answers many questions I have received by eMail asking me about the course of MA Innovation Management at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
With each paradigm shift people and organisations need to adapt to a radically changed world. The... more With each paradigm shift people and organisations need to adapt to a radically changed world. The world we know is changing rapidly and is shifting from a consumer to a creator economy. In this third industrial revolution consumers do not only consume but also produce products and services tailored to their individual requirements. This is facilitated mainly through people’s access to open digital networks, in which everyone can express their wishes. Within this context, organisations have difficulties finding, identifying and accepting new ideas.
Crowdsourcing has proved to be aligned with this new condition because it is goal oriented and it is compatible with the prevailing top-down, traditional management structures. It allows companies to tap into the creative and collective mind of the masses whilst still allowing people to fulfil their participatory role.