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| Kevin Crowston | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kevin Crowston |
| Fields | Information Systems; Computer-Supported Cooperative Work; Organizational Studies |
| Workplaces | Syracuse University; University of London; National Science Foundation |
| Alma mater | State University of New York at Albany; University of Minnesota |
| Known for | Research on Computer-supported cooperative work, Open source software, Crowdsourcing, socio-technical systems |
Kevin Crowston
Kevin Crowston is a scholar in Information systems and Computer-supported cooperative work whose work bridges Sociology, Management science, and Computer science. He is known for empirical and theoretical studies of Open source software development, Crowdsourcing, and coordination in distributed teams, combining qualitative case studies with quantitative methods drawn from Network science and Software engineering. Crowston has held faculty and leadership roles at major research institutions and contributed to policy-oriented programs supported by national research agencies.
Crowston completed undergraduate and graduate studies in institutions in the United States and earned advanced degrees that prepared him for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of Information technology, Organizational behavior, and Library science. His doctoral training involved coursework and research in areas linked to Human–computer interaction, Management information systems, and empirical methods common in Sociology departments. During his formative years he engaged with research communities associated with conferences such as the ACM Special Interest Group on Management Information Systems and the International Conference on Information Systems.
Crowston has held faculty appointments at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom, including positions at Syracuse University and the University of London. He has served as a principal investigator on grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and collaborated with colleagues at research centers including the School of Information Studies and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His teaching has spanned graduate seminars in Information systems and undergraduate courses in Software engineering, while his administrative roles have included program directorships and leadership within interdisciplinary research institutes affiliated with the National Institutes of Health-funded initiatives and European research networks.
Crowston's research program centers on coordination and collaboration in distributed work settings. He developed models and conducted empirical studies of Open source software communities such as projects hosted on platforms akin to GitHub and legacy repositories comparable to SourceForge. His work integrates theories from Organizational theory, Transaction cost economics, and Institutional theory to analyze how volunteer contributors, paid developers, and sponsorship from organizations like Apache Software Foundation and Linux Foundation shape project outcomes. Methodologically, he has applied social network analysis techniques used in Network science and mixed-method approaches familiar to scholars from Sociology and Computer science.
Crowston authored and co-authored articles in journals and conference proceedings associated with venues including the Journal of Management Information Systems, the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, and the International Conference on Information Systems. He has contributed to edited volumes on Human–computer interaction and participated in special issues addressing empirical methods for information systems research. His publications examine topics such as defect prediction in Software engineering, motivation and governance in Open source software, and task allocation in Crowdsourcing platforms similar to Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Crowston's scholarship has been recognized by awards and honours from professional organizations and academic societies. He has been acknowledged by associations that include the Association for Information Systems and the Association for Computing Machinery for contributions to research on Computer-supported cooperative work and for leadership in mentoring doctoral students. His projects have received competitive funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and research councils in the United Kingdom, reflecting peer-reviewed recognition of the societal relevance of his work.
Crowston has served on editorial boards of leading journals in Information systems and Computer-supported cooperative work as well as on program committees for conferences including the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, the International Conference on Information Systems, and workshops sponsored by the European Commission. He has participated in panels and advisory boards for initiatives supported by the National Science Foundation and national research councils, helping to shape agendas for interdisciplinary research that connects Computer science and Organizational studies. In addition, he has mentored doctoral candidates who have taken positions in academia and industry.
Crowston led and contributed to multi-institutional projects examining coordination in distributed software development, collaboration in Scientific communities, and the design of socio-technical systems for volunteer-based production. Collaborators have included researchers from universities such as Cornell University, University of Minnesota, Carnegie Mellon University, University College London, and industrial partners with interests in open innovation and platform design like firms comparable to Microsoft and Google. His work on crowdsourced data collection and volunteered geographic information has intersected with projects involving agencies related to Disaster response and civic technology initiatives.
Category:Information systems researchers Category:Computer-supported cooperative work