Sustaining Contributor Engagement on Innovation Crowdsourcing Platforms: The Case of Kaggle
Human Resource Management (HRM) traditionally aims to help employees reach their full potential through functions such as compensation, training, and recruitment. This study examines how similar functions may be partially fulfilled by innovation crowdsourcing (ICS) platforms, despite contributors not being formal employees. Adopting an exploratory qualitative design, the study draws on 17 semi-structured interviews with contributors on Kaggle to develop a process model that contributes to understanding how ICS platforms orchestrate HRM through eight interdependent practices. These practices enable platforms to attract, develop, and retain contributors over time within a cyclical and mutually reinforcing process involving the platform, client organizations, and the contributor community. By focusing on contributors’ perspectives, this study deepens how HRM functions are performed in non-traditional work arrangements and sheds light on the organizational role of ICS platforms.
Friday, November 6, 2026, from 11:00 am to 12:30.
Room 107 – MIR.