Freelancing Models for Fostering Innovation and Problem Solving in Software Startups: An Empirical Comparative Study

Abstract

Context: freelancers and startups could provide each other with promising opportunities that lead to mutual growth, by improving software development metrics, such as cost, time, and quality. Niche skills processed by freelancers could help startups reduce uncertainties associated with developments and markets, with the ability to quickly address market issues (and with higher quality). This requires the associations between freelancers and startup to be long-term, based on trust, and promising agreements driven by motivations (leading to the growth of both parties). Freelancers could help startups foster innovations and undertake software development tasks in better ways than conducted in-house, if they are selected using informed decision-making. Objectives: the paper has three objectives, (1) to explore the strategies of startups to outsource software development tasks to freelancers (termed as freelancing association strategies); (2) to identify challenges in such outsourcings; and (3) to identify the impacts of outsourcing tasks to freelancers on overall project metrics. The overall objective is to understand the strategies for involving freelancers in the software development process, throughout the startup lifecycle, and the associated challenges and the impacts that help to foster innovation (to maintain competitive advantages). Method: this paper performs empirical studies through case studies of three software startups located in Italy, France, and India, followed by a survey of 54 freelancers. The results are analyzed and compared in the identification of association models, issues, challenges, and reported results arising because of such associations. The case study results are validated using members checking with the research participants, which shows a higher level of result agreements. Results: the results indicate that the freelancer association strategy is task based, panel based, or a hybrid. The associations are constrained by issues such as deciding pricing, setting deadlines, difficulty in getting good freelancers, quality issues with software artefacts, and efforts to access freelancer work submissions for reward. The associations have a positive impact on software development if there is availability of good freelancers (which lasts long for various tasks). The paper finally provides a freelancing model framework and recommends activities that could result in making the situation beneficial to both parties, and streamline such associations. Fostering innovation in startups is, thus, a trade-off situation, which is limited and supported by many conflicting parameters.

Competency-Industry Relatedness (C-IR) Framework for Sustained Business Growth in Startups during and Beyond Pandemic: Myths and Lessons from Publicly Funded Innovative Startups

“…Three startups were about to turn into companies (on the higher end of the growth scale), and for two startups, there was growing demand for their products (they were just at the beginning of the growth scale). Further, these startups already participated in three previous case studies conducted by the authors [17][18][19], which strengthened the knowledge sharing due to familiarity of research and the startup environment.…”

“…Conflicts (10%) were resolved by consensus meetings. The compiled dataset is hosted at Harvard Dataverse [20] and can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/L88OOB (accessed on 20 March 2021).…”

Fostering Continuous Value Proposition Innovation through Freelancer Involvement in Software Startups: Insights from Multiple Case Studies

“…Startups could associate with the freelancers by motivating them to be the part of the freelancer panel maintained by them (panel based association), associate just for the execution of the outsourced task (task based freelancing), or use an optimal combination of the two types (hybrid association) [3]. Uncertainties, terminology issues, high technical debt, lack of documentation, lack of systematic decision making processes, lack of resources, and lack of brand values are the main inhibitors for associations with freelancers [3].…”

“…Startups could associate with the freelancers by motivating them to be the part of the freelancer panel maintained by them (panel based association), associate just for the execution of the outsourced task (task based freelancing), or use an optimal combination of the two types (hybrid association) [3]. Uncertainties, terminology issues, high technical debt, lack of documentation, lack of systematic decision making processes, lack of resources, and lack of brand values are the main inhibitors for associations with freelancers [3]. To involve freelancers for the value proposition innovation as a source of creative ideas and as experts to implement the high priority ideas, continuous involvement of the freelancers to incorporate continuous validated learnings and merging freelancer perspectives with the startup team learning, further complicates the freelancer involvement [4].…”

“…Authors in [3] reported through an exploratory study the various freelancing models executed by software startups to involve freelancers, challenges, and issues with such associations and quantitative business benefits brought to the startups. The exploratory study was conducted because literature lacks reported studies about freelancer's involvement in startups.…”