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A Conceptual Framework for Investigating Organizational Control and Resistance in Crowd-Based Platforms

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A Conceptual Framework for Investigating Organizational Control and Resistance in Crowd-Based Platforms Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2017 A Conceptual Framework for Investigating Organizational Control and Resistance in Crowd-Based Platforms David A. Askay California Polytechnic State University [email protected] Abstract Crowd-based platforms coordinate action through This paper presents a research agenda for crowd decomposing tasks and encouraging individuals to behavior research by drawing from the participate by providing intrinsic (e.g., fun, organizational control literature. It addresses the enjoyment) and/or extrinsic (e.g., status, money, need for research into the organizational and social social interaction, etc.) motivators [3]. Three recent structures that guide user behavior and contributions Information Systems (IS) reviews of crowdsourcing in crowd-based platforms. Crowd behavior is research [6, 4, 7] emphasize the importance of situated within a conceptual framework of designing effective incentive systems. However, organizational control. This framework helps research on motivation is somewhat disparate, with scholars more fully articulate the full range of various categorizations and often inconsistent control mechanisms operating in crowd-based findings as to which incentives are the most effective platforms, contextualizes these mechanisms into the [4]. Moreover, this approach can be limited by its context of crowd-based platforms, challenges existing often deterministic and rational assumptions of user rational assumptions about incentive systems, and behavior and motivation, which overlooks normative clarifies theoretical constructs of organizational and social aspects of human behavior [8]. To more control to foster stronger integration between fully understand the dynamics of crowd behavior and information systems research and organizational and governance of crowd-based projects, IS researchers management science. need a sophisticated way to conceptualize the complex social and organizational processes that guide the behavior and actions of the crowd. To fill this conceptual gap in the crowd behavior 1. Introduction literature, this paper draws from organizational control research. Organizational control refers to the Organizations are increasingly interested in strategies used by managers to align worker harnessing the collective actions of crowds to meet behaviors to organizational objectives [9, 10]. While business goals [1]. This has resulted in the IS scholars have occasionally focused on proliferation of crowd-based platforms supporting organizational control mechanisms [11, 12, 13], an collective intelligence and crowdsourcing efforts that explicit consideration of control mechanisms is coordinate the contribution of user-generated particularly limited in the crowdsourcing and content—product reviews, encyclopedia articles, and collective intelligence literature. current traffic conditions. Consequently, the crowd This paper makes four contributions to the has become a powerful source of knowledge that literature. First, I present a framework that more fully guides not only the decisions of the public, but also articulates the range of control mechanisms that decisions made by organizations [2]. As guide the behavior of the crowd. Second, I organizations like Amazon, Waze, and Wikipedia contextualize this framework through providing turn to the crowd to produce the content that their examples of organizational control research in business models depend on, the challenge of how to crowd-based platforms. Third, I identify promising motivate and govern the crowd has become the topic new directions for crowd behavior research by of much research [1, 3]. While there is scholarly bringing in the ontologically and methodologically interest in the “actions and policies employed to diverse organizational control literature [14]. Fourth, effectively manage the crowd and steer them” [4], this paper clarifies theoretical constructs of there remains limited research about effective organizational control in order to foster integrative mechanisms for governing the crowd [5]. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/41364 ISBN: 978-0-9981331-0-2 CC-BY-NC-ND 1727 research drawing from both IS and organizational and-effect relationship between incentives and action science literature. [22]. By contrast, informal control strategies (also 2. Organizational Control and Crowds called normative or social control) seek to guide behaviors through fostering collective norms, identity, culture, and values in members. A This section defines organizational control, theoretically and ontologically diverse range of summarizes an input-process-output model of scholars have considered these kinds of informal organizational control, and describes resistance to control strategies [23, 21, 20, 9, 24, 14, 25]. In organizational control. general, socio-ideological control occurs when individuals are socialized into an organization’s 2.1. What is Organizational Control? system of beliefs, values, and norms (i.e., corporate culture), which provides a particular organizational While IS researchers often note the ‘loss of reality that acts as a sense-making device for member control’ associated with crowdsourcing [5], control is behaviors. When these values and norms are a fundamental aspect of all organizations and is internalized, members can monitor their own needed to coordinate goal-oriented behaviors [15]. As behaviors to ensure that they align with will be described below, crowd-based platforms use a organizational goals. Informal control mechanisms diverse range of control mechanisms. Organizational are particularly useful for knowledge work, where control includes the mechanisms used by managers to required creativity, ambiguity, and flexibility are not direct, motivate, and encourage worker behaviors to conducive to bureaucratic control strategies that align with organizational objectives [9, 10]. The need dictate a rule for every contingency [26]. Still, for organizational control stems from the competing control strategies often do not fit firmly in one of interests that exist between individuals and these two categories, and a single mechanism may organizations, which can be resolved though control possess attributes of both formal and informal mechanisms (e.g., rules, rewards, punishments, strategies [10, 21]. supervision, etc.) that subordinate the individual’s goals to those of the organization. Control strategies 2.2. Framework of Organizational Control include the incentives that motivate some behaviors (e.g., incentive systems) and also the mechanisms A recent synthesis of organizational control that constrain other behaviors. research uses an input, process, output (IPO) model Various control mechanisms are used by to produce a useful model for conceptualizing the organizations, including policies [16], bureaucratic various mechanisms in a control system [10]. This rules [17], culture [18], incentive systems and framework classifies control systems on the degree to supervision [19], identity [20], and technological which formal and informal control mechanisms target design [9]. Scholars have offered several approaches the input, behavior, and output of the system. It to categorizing these control strategies [9, 10, 21, 22], presents a control system as comprised of several though most distinguish between formal and informal control mechanisms (e.g., bureaucratic, control strategies [22, 11]. technological, direct, socio-ideological, etc.) that Formal control strategies (also called rational each have a control target (e.g., input, behavior, control) seek to influence behavior through the output) in the organization. Input targets include explicit and codified structuring of inputs, tasks, mechanisms that control how inputs (e.g., who is processes, behaviors, and/or outcomes—in essence allowed to participate) to the system are qualified, providing incentives in return for completing well- chosen, and prepared, such as through the selection, designed tasks within certain parameters or punishing training, and socialization of individuals. Behavior those that deviate from this organizationally designed targets focus on controlling the manner in which process. This forms the basis for the incentives individuals perform actions or complete tasks. systems currently used by many crowd-based Finally, output targets include mechanisms that platforms. Additionally, behavior can be directed control qualitative and quantitative outcomes, such as through bureaucratic rules, direct supervision, and profits, quality standards, production volume, and technological design. These control strategies are speed. This framework draws attention to the various premised on the assumptions that individuals are control mechanisms that collectively comprise a primarily rational and view work as an economic control system. exchange, and that there is a generally linear cause- Most IS research on crowd behavior has focused on the study of formal control mechanisms (i.e., 1728 incentive systems) that target the outputs produced by neighborhood, local residents began posting false the crowd [4]. By contrast, little scholarly attention reports during rush hour in effort to redirect traffic has been directed towards control mechanisms that away [33]. However, these acts of resistance were target inputs (e.g., who is included and excluded from suppressed through two organizational control participating, socialization and training, etc.) and mechanisms. First, other Waze users were able to behaviors (e.g.,
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