Why Innovators Jump In: Unraveling the Lure of Idea Contests

OVERVIEW

In today’s age of open-source solutions and collective creativity, understanding the motivations behind idea contest participation is essential. This study delves into the factors influencing an individual’s decision to engage in idea contests, centering on the theory of planned behavior. The study findings indicate a significant association between rewards, attitude, and subjective norms; social recognition substantially influences attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control; and utilitarian motivation positively impacts both attitude and perceived behavioral control. The study also highlights the theory of planned behavior’s effectiveness in pinpointing motivations for idea contest participation, with perceived behavioral control emerging as a predominant factor. Commercial enterprises and educational institutions can apply practical implications from this study to enhance their crowdsourcing efforts, including strategies for tailoring contest themes to participant expertise, creating compelling reward systems, and deploying targeted marketing to attract diverse, innovative contributions.