A recipe for success: Crowdsourcing, online social networks, and their impact on organizational performance

•Firms innovate through two mechanisms whose interrelationships are not well understood.•Organizational learning processes favored by online social networks and crowdsourcing.•Online social networks and crowdsourcing positively influence firm performance. In the global and turbulent world we live in, companies must differentiate themselves by creating a competitive advantage through constant innovation to adapt to the changing environment. A firm's competitive advantage is permanently being contested. Thus, preserving this competitive advantage is critical. Consequently, firms can innovate to survive and thrive through two mechanisms: crowdsourcing and online social networks. However, the interrelationships between these mechanisms are poorly understood and need further testing. Online social networks and crowdsourcing involve individuals who are encouraged to share ideas, driving innovation through knowledge provision. This study aims to determine the importance of online social networks and crowdsourcing as elements that favor organizational learning processes to promote organizational development. This paper presents a set of hypotheses on the relationships between these variables. The findings suggest that online social networks, crowdsourcing, and organizational performance are correlated. Therefore, both of the research hypotheses are supported. Online social networks are shown to play an important role in companies by positively influencing the performance of organizations. Similarly, crowdsourcing is shown to benefit organizational performance.