Making crowdsourcing contests better: the power of task clarity

Purpose The pressing challenge for crowdsourcing contest platforms lies in boosting solvers’ creativity and participation. Task description stands out as a promising solution to this predicament. However, few studies have explored the impact of different clarity in task description and their boundary conditions on solvers’ participation. This research investigates how seekers increase solvers’ participation by posting clarity in task description. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in uncertainty reduction theory, we posit that clarity in task description, encompassing goal clarity and role clarity, alongside seeker status, mitigates uncertainty and bolsters participation willingness. Moreover, prize amount moderates these processes by alleviating competition uncertainty. To validate our model, we leverage proprietary data from ZBJ.com, a premier crowdsourcing platform in China. Findings Our results reveal that goal and role clarity significantly contribute to enhancing solvers’ participation. Seekers with higher status can amplify the positive effect of goal clarity on solvers’ participation while it also weakens the positive impact of role clarity on solvers’ participation. Furthermore, the allure of a high prize amount diminishes the positive effects of both goal and role clarity on solvers’ participation. Originality/value This research offers several noteworthy contributions. First, it innovatively proposes a new relationship between task description uncertainty, seeker uncertainty and competition uncertainty in crowdsourcing. Second, it creatively proposes that two-dimensional clarity of task description in crowdsourcing – goal clarity and role clarity – are effective ways to enhance solvers’ participation. Third, the study enriches the discourse on the merits and challenges associated with revealing trust signals, such as seeker status and prize amount, in crowdsourcing contexts.