Paper Number
ECIS2026-1125
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
Crowdsourcing enables firms to tap into the creative and experiential knowledge of external contributors – often their own customers – to complement internal innovation. In consumer-oriented contexts, this usually occurs through digital, platform-based idea contests that solicit user-generated ideas but reward only a small number of winners. Consequently, most participants experience idea rejection, which may elicit negative emotional and behavioral responses that strain customer-company relationships. Drawing on a field experiment involving 315 individuals in an actual design contest conducted over multiple rounds (t1 = 113, t2 = 87), we examine how different modes of rejection communication – account-giving, non-committal, and rude – shape emotional and behavioral responses. Results show that rejection type significantly influences immediate emotional reactions but that these emotional effects diminish as participants adapt. Behavioral responses, in contrast, remain largely stable regardless of feedback type. These findings advance understanding of rejection dynamics in crowdsourcing contexts and offer guidance for firms on how to communicate rejections effectively to sustain customer engagement.
Recommended Citation
Schaarschmidt, Mario; Walsh, Gianfranco; Dose, David; Kuk, George; Bertram, Matthias; and von Korflesch, Harald F. O., "The Dark Side Of Platform-Based Idea Contests? An Analysis Of How Idea Rejection Affects Emotions Over Time" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/cog_hbis/cog_hbis/2
The Dark Side Of Platform-Based Idea Contests? An Analysis Of How Idea Rejection Affects Emotions Over Time
Crowdsourcing enables firms to tap into the creative and experiential knowledge of external contributors – often their own customers – to complement internal innovation. In consumer-oriented contexts, this usually occurs through digital, platform-based idea contests that solicit user-generated ideas but reward only a small number of winners. Consequently, most participants experience idea rejection, which may elicit negative emotional and behavioral responses that strain customer-company relationships. Drawing on a field experiment involving 315 individuals in an actual design contest conducted over multiple rounds (t1 = 113, t2 = 87), we examine how different modes of rejection communication – account-giving, non-committal, and rude – shape emotional and behavioral responses. Results show that rejection type significantly influences immediate emotional reactions but that these emotional effects diminish as participants adapt. Behavioral responses, in contrast, remain largely stable regardless of feedback type. These findings advance understanding of rejection dynamics in crowdsourcing contexts and offer guidance for firms on how to communicate rejections effectively to sustain customer engagement.