This paper studies the role of seekers' problem specification in crowdsourcing contests for design problems. Platforms hosting design contests offer detailed guidance for seekers to specify their problems when launching a contest. Yet, problem specification in such crowdsourcing contests is...

We propose a dynamic structural model that illuminates the economic mechanisms shaping individual behavior and outcomes on crowdsourced ideation platforms. We estimate the model using a rich data set obtained from IdeaStorm.com, a crowdsourced ideation initiative affiliated with Dell. We find...