Crowdsourcing not all sourced by the crowd: An observation on the behavior of Wikipedia participants

• Published in: Technovation 2016-09, Vol.55-56, p.14-21
• Main Authors: Lee, Jung, Seo, DongBack
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Crowdsourcing; Crowdsourcing motivation; Crowdsourcing participants; Studies; Websites; Wiki war; Wikipedia
• ISSN: 0166-4972; 1879-2383
• DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2016.05.002

This study investigates the behavioral patterns of Wikipedia participants to obtain a picture of internal dynamics of the world's largest crowdsourcing platform. It observes the responses of people when “other” people enter a crowd where internal and external controls are mostly absent. From the analysis of 342 Wikipedia articles, this study shows that the overall tone of Wikipedia articles is mostly decided by a dominant few rather than by a trivial many, and such domination worsens as the number of participant increases and the article matures. This result contradicts a common belief on crowdsourcing that Wikipedia would reflect the voices of a vast majority, obtain a balanced solution, and attain democracy on the Internet. Therefore, this study contributes to the literature by analyzing how effectively Wikipedia functions as a crowdsourcing platform within the context. It also implies that developing a proper crowdsourcing strategy such as effective management of a platform is necessary, especially when an organization has a specific goal to achieve throughout a project. •Wikipedia articles are not always rightly sourced from the crowd.•Wikipedia articles are often maintained by a dominant few.•The dominance of the few participants becomes more severe as the crowd matures.•Intrinsic motivation encourages Wiki participants to engage in revising articles.