Big data management: implications of dynamic capabilities and data incubator

TLDR

Big data management has attracted significant academic and industry interest, yet the literature reveals limited understanding and challenges, particularly in accurately verifying data veracity and deriving value for organizations and stakeholders. This study aims to develop strategic insights for managing big data challenges—specifically data veracity and value—by proposing a data incubator framework. Using an inductive–constructivist approach that integrates dynamic capabilities theory with stakeholder relationship management, the authors design a data incubator to proactively assess data veracity and value. The framework yields empirical evidence that, at the intersection of dynamic capabilities and stakeholder management, a data incubator can verify data sources, enhance value creation, and guide executives in designing, delivering, and evaluating stakeholder value.

Abstract

Purpose Big data management research and practice, however, have received enormous interest from academia and industry; the extant literature demonstrates that the authors have limited understanding and challenges in this knowledge-stream to fully capitalize with its potentials. One of the contemporary challenges is to accurately verify data veracity, and developing value from the verified data for an organization and its stakeholders. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to develop insights on how the authors could strategically deal with the contemporary challenges in strategic management of big data, related to data veracity and data value. Design/methodology/approach The inductive–constructivist approach is followed to develop insights at the intersection of dynamic capabilities theory and stakeholder relationship management concept, in order to strategically deal with the contemporary challenges in big data management, related to data veracity and data value. Findings At the intersection of dynamic capabilities theory and stakeholder relationship management concept, an implication is acknowledged, which has research and practical significance to strategically verify data source, its veracity and value. Following this implication, a framework of a data incubator is proposed to proactively develop insights on veracity and value of data. Empirical insights are also presented in this study to support this initial framework. Practical implications For future research in strategic management of big data, academics will have contextual understanding on the particular interconnected and interdependent attributes from dynamic capabilities and stakeholder relationship management research streams to further enhance the understanding on big data management. For practice, these insights will be useful for executives to focus on specific attributes of the proposed data incubator to confirm data veracity and develop insights on how to design, deliver and evaluate stakeholder value based on the verified data. Originality/value Following a synthesis at the intersection of dynamic capabilities theory and stakeholder relationship management concept, this study introduces a data incubator to meaningfully deal with the big data management challenges, related to veracity and value of data.