The Wisdom of e-crowds: Can Masses Create Value?
Journal Title: International Journal of Management and Economics - Year 2016, Vol 0, Issue 51
Abstract
With the rising popularity of the Internet, interactions between companies and their consumers have become more common and meaningful. Researchers often tend to apply the metaphor of community to these on-line networks of B2C relationships. However, this term implies durability and a long-term orientation. It does not cover more incidental, short-lived groups of consumers, who therefore should not be treated as communities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ability of these short-term, collective consumer phenomena (addressed as e-crowds within the scope of this paper) to create value. Based on a critical literature analysis that considers works from several different fields of knowledge (including management, economics, psychology and media studies) and empirical examples, we argue that while lacking a complex internal organization, e-crowds are capable of creating use, exchange and sign value when certain conditions are met. However, they are equally likely to perform value-destroying activities, which present real risks for companies that interact with e-crowds.
Authors and Affiliations
Marcin Wieczerzycki
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP182268
- DOI 10.1515/ijme-2016-0019
- Views 53
- Downloads 0
In Search of Excellence in E-Customer Logistics Service
The e-commerce market has been developing very rapidly and changing traditional distribution systems. The development of online channels is matched by a similar evolution of companies’ logistics systems. As a consequence...
Risk of Investments in Human Capital and Expected Worker Mobility
The main purpose of the article is to examine workers’ mobility expectations under the risk of investments in human capital. We focus on the earnings risk associated with investments in human capital. In particular, we a...
Exploration of Key Success Factors that Influence Business Performance: The Experiences of Women Micro-entrepreneurs from Mazovia Voivodeship of Poland
Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing categories of firms in the world, but they are greatly understudied in countries from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) [Zapalska et al., 2005]. The purpose of thi...
The Perception of Job-related Motivators When Choosing a Career in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry – A Comparative Study Between Polish and Spanish Students
The recent rapid growth of the tourism and hospitality industries raises a question about the quantity and quality of the workforce needed in these sectors. In the tourism/hospitality industry, where most services are de...
The Effect of Exports on Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Policy Implications
The purpose of this study is to explore long run affiliations between exports and carbon dioxide emissions. This paper examines thirty-seven countries over the period 1960 to 2010 and uses the Toda and Yamamoto causality...