VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND LAW

-------------------------------

DIGITAL ECONOMICS

LECTURE: MR. LE HUY DOAN

GROUP 7’S MEMBERS MSSV

1. Vo Duy Dong K214080591
2. Nguyen Dang Khanh Linh K214081857
3. Duong Khoa Linh K214081855
4. Nguyen Ngoc Thao Mi K214080599
5. Bui Nu Phuong Uyen K214080607
 Crowdsourcing is a popular approach that involves leveraging the collective intelligence and
efforts of a large group of people to solve problems, complete tasks, or generate ideas. While
crowdsourcing can be an effective way to harness diverse perspectives and skills, there are
several challenges associated with this approach. First and foremost, we will have a brief
understanding of the definition of Crowdsourcing.

1. What are the Main Challenges of Crowdsourcing?

a. The Definition of Crowdsourcing:

Crowdsourcing refers to the process of obtaining work or services by outsourcing it

to a large group of people, typically via the internet. This technique has gained
immense popularity in recent years due to its effectiveness in solving complex
problems and its cost-effectiveness. However, despite its numerous advantages,
crowdsourcing also comes with several challenges that need to be addressed for the
technique to be successful. In this paper, we discuss the main challenges of
crowdsourcing.

b. The Main Challenges of Crowdsourcing:

- Quality control: One of the most significant challenges of crowdsourcing is

maintaining the quality of work. Since anyone can participate in crowdsourcing,
the quality of work can vary widely, and it can be challenging to ensure that the
final output is of high quality. This issue is particularly important when the
output of crowdsourcing is used for critical tasks such as medical diagnosis or
legal decision making.

- Motivation: Crowdsourcing relies on volunteers who are not motivated by

financial gain, which makes it challenging to attract and retain participants.
Without proper motivation, the quality of work and the quantity of output can
suffer, leading to subpar results.

- Coordination: Crowdsourcing involves coordinating the work of a large number

of people, which can be a challenging task. It can be difficult to manage the
contributions of each participant, ensure that the work is completed on time, and
integrate the individual contributions into a cohesive whole.

- Bias: Crowdsourcing can be susceptible to bias, particularly when it comes to

subjective tasks such as content moderation or image labeling. This can lead to
inaccurate results and a lack of trust in the crowdsourcing process.
 - Intellectual property: Crowdsourcing involves outsourcing work to individuals
who may not be aware of the intellectual property laws. This can lead to
copyright infringement and legal issues.

- Security: Crowdsourcing involves sharing sensitive data and information with a

large number of people, which can lead to security concerns. It can be
challenging to ensure that the data is not misused or accessed by unauthorized
individuals.

c. Some Examples of Crowdsourcing Challenges:

- In 2015, Google launched its crowdsourcing platform, Google Contributor,

which allowed users to pay a monthly fee to remove ads from websites.
However, the platform failed to attract enough users, and Google shut it down in
2016.
- Netflix utilized crowdsourcing to develop innovative solution to improve its
recommendation engine by 10%. The 3-year Netflix Prize attracted 44,014
submissions, and was ultimately won by a team that had combined algorithms
after the second year of the contest.
- The crowdsourcing platform, Mechanical Turk, faced criticism for its lack of
quality control. Participants were completing tasks without fully understanding
them, leading to inaccurate results.

2. What is the Difference between In-house Production and Crowdsourcing?

a. The Definition of In-house Production Model:

The in-house production model is a traditional approach to creating products or

services, in which all aspects of production are handled within a single company or
organization. This means that the company is responsible for every stage of the
production process, from conception and design to manufacturing, distribution, and
customer support.

In the in-house production model, the company typically has full control over the
product or service and is able to make decisions quickly and efficiently. The
company may also have a greater degree of intellectual property protection, since the
product is created and owned entirely by the company.

However, there are also some potential drawbacks to the in-house production model.
For example, the company may not have access to the same level of expertise and
resources that would be available in a more collaborative production model.
 Additionally, the costs associated with maintaining a full in-house production team
can be high, which can limit the company's ability to invest in other areas of the
business.

Overall, the in-house production model is a well-established approach to creating

products or services, but it may not always be the most effective or efficient choice,
depending on the specific needs and goals of the company.

b. The Difference between In-house Production and Crowdsourcing:

The crowdsourcing model and the in-house production model are two different
approaches to creating products or services. The main difference between these two
models is the level of collaboration involved in the production process.

The crowdsourcing model relies on a large group of individuals to work together to

create and refine the product, while the in-house production model involves a single
company handling all aspects of the production process.

One example of the crowdsourcing model in Vietnam is the development of the

open-source content management system (CMS) called Drupal. The Drupal software
was created by a global community of developers and is freely available for anyone
to use, modify, and distribute. In Vietnam, there are many Drupal users and
contributors, who collaborate online to improve the software and share knowledge
about how to use it effectively.

An example of the in-house production model in Vietnam is the manufacturing of

bicycles by the VinFast company. VinFast is a Vietnamese automaker that produces
a range of vehicles, including bicycles, in-house. The company has full control over
the production process, from designing and testing the bicycles to manufacturing and
distributing them. This allows VinFast to maintain high standards of quality and to
control costs more effectively than if it were to outsource production to other
companies.

In summary, the crowdsourcing model and the in-house production model are two
different approaches to creating products or services, each with its own advantages
and disadvantages. The choice of production model depends on the specific needs
and goals of the company or organization involved.

c. Can Crowdsourcing produce Digital services of the same quality as the In-house
Production Model?
Crowdsourcing can potentially produce digital services of the same quality as in-
house production models, but this will depend on a variety of factors such as the
complexity of the service, the quality of the crowd's skills and experience, and the
management and coordination of the crowd.

To ensure the quality of products and services, the crowdsourcing model needs to
have quality control processes and safety measures in place. Manufacturers and
suppliers need to have regulations and standards to ensure that products and services
meet the established quality standards.

In addition, the outsourcing model needs support from the community to ensure
sustainable operations. This may include ensuring funding sources for manufacturers
and suppliers to operate, providing training and support to improve the quality of
products and services, and creating consensus and support from the community.

In summary, if implemented correctly and with full community support, the

outsourcing model can provide digital services of similar quality to the in-house
production model. However, this depends on factors such as the reliability of
suppliers and the professionalism of manufacturers.

In Vietnam, there are several examples of crowdsourcing initiatives that have

produced high-quality digital services. One such example is the app Foody, a crowd-
sourced restaurant review and recommendation platform. Foody has become one of
the most popular apps in Vietnam, with over 3 million active users, and has been
successful in providing accurate and useful information about restaurants to users.

Another example is TopCV, a platform that offers resume and career advice services
to job seekers. The platform utilizes a crowd of experienced professionals to provide
feedback and advice on resumes and cover letters, and has helped many job seekers
in Vietnam to improve their chances of finding employment.

While these examples suggest that crowdsourcing can produce high-quality digital
services in Vietnam, it's important to note that the success of crowdsourcing
initiatives will depend on a variety of factors, such as the quality of the crowd, the
management and coordination of the crowd, and the nature of the service being
produced.
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