The writer is a good writer to summarize a type of social/business phenomena. Whether the business concept can become a business model that generates profit remains question.
We read some examples such as P&G case but I believe that P&G's crowdsourcing strategy works mainly because P&G has the capacity / strengths to turn it into success. The crowdsourcing strategy is not the critical contributing factor in the case. Turn to Linux case, it is indeed another successful model of open-source software. But in the financial measure model, investors or managers will love MS Windows more because the business of any business is business.
As to the crowdsourcing strategy applied onto training and development, my understanding is still that it relies more on the fundamental characteristics of the training system itself and (for sure) the outside and inside environments. Crowdsourcing, even if applied in a right way, itself will not create real value without the previous sound framework. From the trainee's side, if he don't know what he needs to know, he will never know. Crowdsourcing cannot solve the problem of asking right questions. Turning to the P&G case, we can see that the company raise the right questions.
Most principles in the crowdsourcing are more common-sense based than new ideas.
That is my thought and that can be biased.
Thanks for your reading and have a nice day !
Contact: penninghe@yahoo.com.cn