A Geography of Participation in IT-Mediated Crowds

TL;DR

This paper investigates how geographic location influences participation outcomes in IT-mediated crowdsourcing, using a large dataset to reveal significant regional differences and validating Crowd Capital Theory.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence of geographic effects on crowdsourcing participation and demonstrates the applicability of Crowd Capital Theory in this domain.

Findings

Significant regional variation in crowdsourcing participation.

Geography significantly influences participation outcomes.

Initial validation of Crowd Capital Theory as a useful framework.

Abstract

In this work we seek to understand how differences in location affect participation outcomes in IT-mediated crowds. To do so, we operationalize Crowd Capital Theory with data from a popular international creative crowdsourcing site, to determine whether regional differences exist in crowdsourcing participation outcomes. We present the early results of our investigation from data encompassing 1,858,202 observations from 28,214 crowd members on 94 different projects in 2012. Using probit regressions to isolate geographic effects by continental region, we find significant variation across regions in crowdsourcing participation. In doing so, we contribute to the literature by illustrating that geography matters in respect to crowd participation. Further, our work illustrates an initial validation of Crowd Capital Theory as a useful theoretical model to guide empirical inquiry in the fast-growing domain of IT-mediated crowds.