INTRA-CORPORATE CROWDSOURCING (ICC): LEVERAGING UPON RANK AND SITE MARGINALITY FOR INNOVATION

study of a crowdsourcing innovation initiative inside a large multi-business firm shows that: (1) rank marginality —defined as being lower positioned in the corporate hierarchy—, and (2) site marginality —defined as being spatially distant relative to the corporate epicenter—, are positively associated with better innovation performance. Prior research showed the positive association of marginality, technical and social, with better innovation performance in crowdsourcing initiatives involving participants external to the firm (6). Our findings contribute to the management of innovation literature by identifying two new dimensions of marginality that may help create an innovation performance advantage for the firm implementing intra-corporate crowdsourcing initiatives.

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