Conceptualization refinement of hackathon for innovation management

Abstract

Although hackathons have become a popular phenomenon beyond the IT industry, the current use of the concept is ambiguous. Good theory building is preceded by construct and conceptual clarity. Consequently, clearly defined concepts are essential. Therefore, this paper addresses the concept definition of hackathon as innovation contest. Following the conceptualization model of Podsakoff et al. (2016), this paper studies the refinement of hackathon concept, focusing on its construct of necessary and sufficient attributes. As results this paper presents the discovered nine necessary and sufficient attributes of the hackathon concept and compares them against 29 hackathon event cases studied with e.g. action research methodology. The results will benefit both academics studying hackathons and companies who aim to enhance their innovation management, especially in the fuzzy front end of innovation.