Design Thinking Inspired Crowdsourcing: Toward a Generative Model of Complex Problem Solving

Design thinking has made huge inroads in organizations today and has been widely popularized as one of the most effective approaches to complex problem solving. However, the prescriptive models to design thinking that are now widely used by “nondesigners” in the business world are criticized for their detachment from users, poor execution, and tendency to converge on safe solutions. This article examines the efficacy of using crowdsourcing as an underpinning technology for executing design thinking by nondesigners to alleviate these issues. It advances a generative model of complex problem solving with theoretical as well as practical implications.