CPI Open Innovation & Crowdsourcing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In crowdsourcing, what distinguishes a 'tournament model' from a 'collaborative model'?
- Tournament models use internal teams; collaborative models use external ones
- Tournament models involve competition among solvers for a prize; collaborative models involve collective co-creation (Correct answer)
- Tournament models are faster but less accurate; collaborative models are slower but cheaper
- Tournament models reward all participants; collaborative models reward only the best
Correct answer: Tournament models involve competition among solvers for a prize; collaborative models involve collective co-creation
In a tournament model, solvers compete independently for a prize, while in a collaborative model, participants jointly build on each other's contributions.
Question 2: Which framework by Henry Chesbrough is foundational to open innovation theory?
- The Three Horizons Model
- The Open Innovation Paradigm (Correct answer)
- The Jobs-to-be-Done Framework
- The Lean Startup Canvas
Correct answer: The Open Innovation Paradigm
Henry Chesbrough introduced the Open Innovation Paradigm in his 2003 book, arguing that firms should use external ideas alongside internal R&D to advance technology.
Question 3: What is 'user innovation' in the context of open innovation?
- When firms innovate based on usage analytics
- When end-users develop or modify products to meet their own needs, often sharing results freely (Correct answer)
- When users are paid to test prototypes
- When a company crowdsources UX design exclusively
Correct answer: When end-users develop or modify products to meet their own needs, often sharing results freely
User innovation, associated with Eric von Hippel, occurs when lead users develop innovations for their own benefit and often freely reveal them, benefiting the broader community.
Question 4: A technology company creates an API and invites third-party developers to build applications on its platform. This is an example of:
- IP licensing
- Technology transfer
- Platform-based open innovation (Correct answer)
- Vertical integration
Correct answer: Platform-based open innovation
Platform-based open innovation leverages an ecosystem of external developers who extend the platform's value, as seen with Apple's App Store or Salesforce's AppExchange.
Question 5: Which of the following is a challenge specific to managing intellectual property in open innovation partnerships?
- Reduced need for NDAs
- Difficulty in defining co-ownership and licensing terms upfront (Correct answer)
- Easier patent filing across partners
- Elimination of trade secret concerns
Correct answer: Difficulty in defining co-ownership and licensing terms upfront
Open innovation partnerships frequently face legal complexity around who owns jointly developed IP and how licensing rights are allocated between collaborating parties.
Question 6: In the context of crowdsourcing, 'microtasking' refers to:
- Assigning small, discrete subtasks to a large number of contributors (Correct answer)
- Paying very small amounts to contributors for full projects
- Crowdsourcing only micro-entrepreneurs
- Using AI to automate crowdsourced tasks
Correct answer: Assigning small, discrete subtasks to a large number of contributors
Microtasking breaks a large project into tiny, self-contained tasks distributed across many workers, as exemplified by Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Question 7: An open innovation strategy that focuses on accessing external startups for emerging technologies rather than developing them in-house is called:
- Intrapreneurship
- Technology scouting (Correct answer)
- Internal venturing
- Stage-gate process
Correct answer: Technology scouting
Technology scouting involves systematically searching external environments—startups, universities, labs—to identify and access technologies relevant to the firm's strategic needs.
CPI Open Innovation & Crowdsourcing 3
In crowdsourcing, what distinguishes a 'tournament model' from a 'collaborative model'?