Motivation of Crowds' Online Participation in Crowdsourcing Community : A case of XIAOMI MIUI
Cai, Lin (2016)
Cai, Lin
Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016052710379
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016052710379
Tiivistelmä
XIAOMI is one of famous Chinese smartphone brands which employs a crowdsourcing business model to operate its MIUI forum. Since the competition among different crowdsourcing platforms has becoming fiercer and fiercer, making people positively and persistently involved in MIUI crowdsourcing activities has become increasingly challenging. The main objectives of the thesis were to discover the factors motivating users’ participation in the MIUI forum and to compare the importance of different motivation types to MIUI forum users.
The thesis started with theoretical knowledge presenting an overview of crowdsourcing, online community, online participation and motivations for participating in a crowdsourcing community. The information was mainly found in academic journals and online resources. Then, a quantitative research was conducted as an online questionnaire sent to the existing users of the MIUI forum.
The research findings revealed that introjected motivation is regarded as a significant factor affecting users’ engagement generally. However, when different types of participation are considered, motivational factors differ. Those users who are contributors are most likely to be internally motivated. Lurkers, in contrast, are highly motivated by introjected motivations and external motivations. The thesis suggests some improvements of the MIUI forum’s incentive mechanism based on the findings.
The thesis started with theoretical knowledge presenting an overview of crowdsourcing, online community, online participation and motivations for participating in a crowdsourcing community. The information was mainly found in academic journals and online resources. Then, a quantitative research was conducted as an online questionnaire sent to the existing users of the MIUI forum.
The research findings revealed that introjected motivation is regarded as a significant factor affecting users’ engagement generally. However, when different types of participation are considered, motivational factors differ. Those users who are contributors are most likely to be internally motivated. Lurkers, in contrast, are highly motivated by introjected motivations and external motivations. The thesis suggests some improvements of the MIUI forum’s incentive mechanism based on the findings.