Parallel Innovation Contests

Abstract

Crowdsourcing using innovation contests has become a popular tool to source innovative solutions to various problems organizations face. With several innovation contests that run in parallel, two key questions are how the number of contests affects contest outcomes and whether solvers who can compete in these contests should focus their effort on a small group of contests. A recent study by Ersin Körpeoğlu, C. Gizem Korpeoglu, and İsa Emin Hafalır titled “Parallel Innovation Contests” addresses these key questions. The study shows that running up to a certain number of contests in parallel can benefit the overall outcome of these contests. Interestingly, more contests can be run in parallel if these contests seek disruptive innovation rather than incremental innovation. The study also shows that encouraging solvers to work on multiple contests in parallel can improve contest outcomes when these contests seek disruptive innovation. These findings can help guide organizations and crowdsourcing platforms that organize multiple contests in parallel.