A Geography of Participation in IT-Mediated Crowds

Abstract: In this work we seek to understand how differences in location affect participation outcomes in IT-mediated crowds. To do so, we operationalize Crowd Capital Theory with data from a popular international creative crowdsourcing site, to determine whether regional differences exist in crowdsourcing participation outcomes. We present the early results of our investigation from data encompassing 1,858,202 observations from 28,214 crowd members on 94 different projects in 2012. Using probit regressions to isolate geographic effects by continental region, we find significant variation across regions in crowdsourcing participation. In doing so, we contribute to the literature by illustrating that geography matters in respect to crowd participation. Further, our work illustrates an initial validation of Crowd Capital Theory as a useful theoretical model to guide empirical inquiry in the fast-growing domain of IT-mediated crowds.