MODUL PERKULIAHAN

Strategic
Management
Case in Strategic Management:
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems: Paving the way
towards digital transformation and sustainable societies

Fakultas Program Studi Tatap Muka Kode MK Disusun Oleh

07i
Pasca Sarjana Magister Teknik P541700006 DR Ir Iwan krisnadi MBA
Elektro

Abstract Kompetensi
The digitalization process and its — Practicing the Implementating
outcomes in the 21st century accelerate and Administrating Strategy
transformation and the creation of
sustainable societies. Our decisions, — Mastery in Implementating and
actions and even existence in the digital Administrating Strategy
world generate data, which offer
tremendous opportunities for revising
current business methods and practices,
thus there is a critical need for novel
theories embracing big data analytics
ecosystems
Information Systems and e-Business Management
DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z

Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems: Paving the way towards digital
transformation and sustainable societies

Ilias O. Pappas1,*, Patrick Mikalef1, Michail N. Giannakos1, John Krogstie1, George Lekakos2

1
Department of Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
2
Department of Management Science and Technology, Athens University of Economics and Business,
Greece

Abstract

The digitalization process and its outcomes in the 21 st century accelerate transformation and the creation of
sustainable societies. Our decisions, actions and even existence in the digital world generate data, which offer
tremendous opportunities for revising current business methods and practices, thus there is a critical need for
novel theories embracing big data analytics ecosystems. Building upon the rapidly developing research on
digital technologies and the strengths that information systems (IS) discipline brings in the area, we
conceptualize big data and business analytics ecosystems and propose a model that portraits how big data and
business analytics ecosystems can pave the way towards digital transformation and sustainable societies, that is
the Digital Transformation and Sustainability (DTS) model. This editorial discusses that in order to reach
digital transformation and the creation of sustainable societies, first, none of the actors in the society can be
seen in isolation, instead we need to improve our understanding of their interactions and interrelations that lead
to knowledge, innovation, and value creation. Second, we gain deeper insight on which capabilities need to be
developed to harness the potential of big data analytics. Our suggestions in this paper, coupled with the five
research contributions included in the special issue, seek to offer a broader foundation for paving the way
towards digital transformation and sustainable societies

Keywords: analytics, big data, digital ecosystems, digital transformation, sustainable societies

1 Introduction

“If we are to live healthy, fulfilling lives on this planet in the future, we must find new, life-affirming
values and forge new patterns of living and working together”(Benn, Edwards, & Williams, 2014)

The progress in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is leading societies of the 21 st century
into an ever-increasing digitalized world, where information and knowledge becomes readily available to
more and more people every day. Societies are becoming landscapes mediated by different digital media
platforms, digital services, and technologies that allow sensing, data capture and analytics. This progress
and change in technology inevitably leads to a change in how societies are organized, and how their
members interact with each other. Massive amounts of data are generated every moment from a growing
number of sources. Companies are realizing that the data they own and the way they use them can provide
them with a competitive edge. Big data and business analytics are also challenging existing modes of
business and well-established companies. Yet, there is limited understanding of how organizations need to

* Corresponding author: Ilias O. Pappas, [email protected]

Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

change to embrace these technological innovations, and the business shifts they entail which can lead to
business and societal transformation (Chen, Chiang, & Storey, 2012; Loebbecke & Picot, 2015).
Big data, business analytics, and “smart” environments have attracted great attention over the past few
years in driving organizational decision making, as organizations are working on how on how to give
purpose to the data, and get value-driven answers that will increase their performance (Mayhew, Saleh, &
Williams, 2016), influencing different members in the society (e.g., individuals, businesses, governments)
(Chen et al., 2012). Big data may be one the most significant technological disruptions in business and
academic ecosystems in recent years (Agarwal & Dhar, 2014). As the label itself indicates, big data refers
to large volumes of data generated and made available online and in digital media ecosystems. Big data
are generated from different type of sources, such as the multiple transactions performed daily, posts made
on social media, or from the increasing number of sensors installed in numerous objects (e.g., mobile
phones, home appliances, cars, etc.). Big data analytics is a tool that goes beyond pattern analysis, allows
the prediction of events (George, Haas, & Pentland, 2014), and supports artificial intelligence that is able
to automatize processes, transform companies and create new types of business as it can do now (Ng,
2018), as well as to create value for the development of sustainable and prosperous societies.

Companies have been considered responsible for multiple challenges of the society, with social, environmental,
and economic consequences (Porter & Kramer, 2019), even though the vast majority of CEOs state that
achieving business sustainability is of high priority for them (Hoffman, 2018). To this end, focus has also been
on developing and marketing sustainable products and services that impact society in general. Furthermore,
citizens are becoming more responsible and aware of the impacts coming from the consumption of the various
services and goods (e.g., environmental, data protection) and require them to be produced/operate in
sustainable and transparent ways. Addressing social, environmental, and economic challenges creates value for
numerous stakeholders in a society. For example, a company can gain a competitive advantage by investing in
wellness programs that take advantage of big data. Specifically, companies may offer free wearable fitness
devices to their employees if they agree to reach specific activity goals, urging them to exercise more and
improve their health. The latter improves the quality of life of the employees and their families, increases
productivity for the company, reduces medical costs for the government overtime, and may impact research as
well since the data can also be used for medical studies.

As big data tools and applications spread, they will inevitably change long-standing ideas about decision
making, management practices, competitive strategy formulation, and value creation. Big data and business
analytics, mainly driven by practice, have been used to predict or explain what caused certain outcomes (Reed
& Dongarra, 2015). Indeed, recently in their commentary on the role of big data in IS, Agarwal and Dhar
(2014) highlight how the experiments conducted on Facebook were popular in the media, because they raised
issues regarding the protection of privacy and individuals’ rights. Since then, big data analytics have evolved
and are increasingly used by companies, economists, marketers, or political scientists to analyse and predict
numerous phenomena, from stock prices, to purchase behaviour and voting intentions. Going further, the
generated knowledge from big data and business analytics may be used to target people with specific
information to influence perceptions, attitudes, or behaviour, over time. At the time of writing the present
editorial, the case of Cambridge Analytica is receiving increased attention, because of its role in the US
elections of 2016, and how it used big data from Facebook, which were passed to third parties, for innovative
political marketing campaign. Besides the impact of this practice and its significance, and European Union’s
efforts to put into practice the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); it is

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

interesting to note that the issues of data privacy and individuals’ rights on their digital footprint remain.
Indeed, similar problems continue to exist suggesting that different types of approaches and changes in
culture are required (Mayer-Schönberger & Cukier, 2013). Considering that technology evolves rapidly
with social media existing for over a decade, and that we generate massive amounts of data every
moment, the lack of consensus and regulations poses a significant barrier towards the adoption of big data
for achieving digital transformation while developing sustainable societies.

There is a growing need for findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable infrastructures and data
management standards that provide greater access to the information in the society (Wilkinson et al.,
2016). Investing in such infrastructures enables thriving innovation and digitalization of the city services
and jumpstarts a wide-range of technology ecosystems. Digital infrastructures are now integral in
numerous fields (e.g., business, health, transportation, finance), but the question remains on how we can
give purpose to the data and extract actionable insight; by going beyond technical innovations and security
issues, asking the right questions, and bridging business transformation with big data analytics for value
creation that accelerates the sustainable development of the society.

In the 21st century’s ecosystems none of their actors can be seen in isolation, instead all of them need to
actively interact and collaborate with each other to create knowledge and innovate, while evolving their
interrelations, leading to new technologies and companies, and increased value. The cross-disciplinary
nature of IS discipline can be the driving force that will give meaning to big data and improve the
relations among data and business models (Agarwal & Dhar, 2014). Digitalization of services and
transformation of contemporary business models is needed to accelerate the creation of sustainable
societies. New digital business models will not only be more accurate and efficient but also go beyond
economic needs, and address societal challenges generating shared value that impacts the companies,
organizations, consumers, and the public at large (Porter & Kramer, 2019). Big data play a key role in this
transformation and combining them from multiple sources, sharing them with various stakeholders, and
analysing them in different ways allows the achievement of digital transformation and creation of
sustainable societies. A comprehensive analysis of the big data and business analytics ecosystem and its
interdependencies enables the development of frameworks that will provide solutions that benefit all the
actors within the ecosystem.

2 Conceptualizing big data and business analytics ecosystems

The term ecosystem has been proposed to describe the interaction system which includes living organisms and
their non-living environment (Tansley, 1935). Since the term was coined, it has been used in different areas
including biology, business, management, technology, and innovation leading to more specific ecosystems such
as business ecosystems (Moore, 1996), or innovation ecosystems that focus on value creation for firms (Adner
& Kapoor, 2010). An ecosystem in the area of management, technology and innovation is defined as a
historically self-organized or managerially designed multilayer social network that consists of actors that have
different attributes, decision principles, and beliefs (Tsujimoto, Kajikawa, Tomita, & Matsumoto, 2017). Thus,
such an ecosystem should be viewed as a highly complex system that can organize itself and requires long term
data collection. Furthermore, as an ecosystem consists of multiple hierarchical layers, cooperation,
collaboration, and coopetition among its actors is required but it may be

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

difficult to be achieved. Also, the relations among the actors of an ecosystem cannot remain solely within
the business context, instead they are likely to extend to different contexts, like personal or procedural
relations. Since the actors are different from one another it is necessary to examine their attributes and
beliefs to better understand their behaviour, their capabilities, and their needs, which in turn will improve
the efficiency, coherency, and the performance of the ecosystem overall.

Drawing from the business ecosystems (Moore, 1996), the big data value chain has been proposed
recently to model high level activities within information systems, and is placed in the core of the big data
ecosystem at a micro level, while multiple stakeholders exist at the meso and macro level (Curry, 2016).
When referring to big data and business analytics, the term ecosystem describes the environment created
and supported by the numerous actors, that comprise the ecosystem, their perpetual data generation along
with their interactions and interrelations. Such ecosystems already exist in the industry within or between
different sectors (e.g., Apple, Google, Intel, Microsoft). However, if our ultimate goal is to create
sustainable societies we need to evolve existing ecosystems, or develop new ones, to be more dynamic
and actively include more stakeholders of their stakeholders, taking into account both their capabilities
and needs. The works from Knabke and Olbrich (2017) and Mikalef, Pappas, Krogstie, and Giannakos
(2017) in this special issue, highlight both the importance and potential of dynamic capabilities in
increasing business intelligence and value, thus improving our current understanding on how firms may
evolve their role and position in current big data and business analytics ecosystems.

A strong analytics capability is key to digital transformation, as organizations that want to compete in the
digital economy will have to invest in various resources including people, processes and technology of
data and analytics (Carlsson, 2017). Such resources can be categorized into tangible, intangible, and
human skills and they can lead to increased performance and create competitive advantage for
organizations (Grant, 1991). As big data have become a necessary resource in creating value, big data
analytics capability is defined as the ability of a data actor to effectively deploy technology and talent to
capture, store and analyse data, towards value creation, business change, and societal change (Gupta &
George, 2016; Loebbecke & Picot, 2015; Mikalef et al., 2017). To achieve this a data-driven culture is
required, which will allow decision-makers to base their decisions more on insight rather than instinct
(McAfee & Brynjolfsson, 2012). Furthermore, along with data-driven culture, organizational learning is a
critical aspect of effective deployment of big data initiatives (Mikalef et al., 2017; Vidgen, Shaw, &
Grant, 2017), which allows data actors to exploit existing knowledge and continuously explore new
knowledge in order to keep up with unpredictable market conditions. Finally, both technical and
managerial-oriented skills are critical to derive value from big data investments (Wamba et al., 2017).
Thus, big data analytics capability includes basic resources and technology (tangible), technical and
managerial skills (human skills), and data driven culture and organizational learning.

Interactions among academia, industry, and government are essential to create the needed technological,
institutional, and psychological conditions to innovate in a knowledge-based society, creating the triple-helix
model (Etzkowitz & Carvalho de Mello, 2004). The triple-helix model has been extended to the quadruple-
helix model by incorporating the civil society (Carayannis & Campbell, 2009), which includes individuals and
citizens. Building on the above discussion, we posit that a big data and business analytics ecosystem comprises
of the data actors (i.e., academia, industry/private organizations, government/public organizations, civil society,
and individuals/entrepreneurs), who generate and use big data. We differentiate

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

individuals as entrepreneurs from the civil society, considering their importance in creativity, innovation,
economic growth, and social impact (Drucker, 2014). The data actors need to develop big data analytics
capabilities, in their respective contexts, which will lead to value creation, business change, and societal
change. This is an iterative process based on which the data actors use their experience to constantly improve
and evolve their big data analytics capabilities, and increase the generated value that impacts both business and
society. The successful implementation of this process is key to digital transformation and the creation of
sustainable societies, creating the big data and business analytics ecosystems. Figure 1 presents the Digital
Transformation and Sustainability (DTS) model, which conceptualizes the big data and business analytics
ecosystem and the factors that need to cooperate, coordinate, and collaborate to enable the use of big data
towards the achievement of digital transformation and the creation of sustainable societies.

Fig. 1 The Digital Transformation and Sustainability (DTS) Model

In 21st century’s ecosystems the evolution of digital economy and its combination with big data have led
to the advancement of traditional economic and business concepts and the development of new ones
(George et al., 2014). As all the actors of a big data and business analytics ecosystem generate vast
amount of data every moment (e.g., while browsing the internet, using social media, using sensor
networks, performing business transactions, etc.), it is critical to capture and analyse such data, from
multiple sectors, because it will help to better understand the behaviour, capabilities, and needs of the
respective actors. Furthermore, it allows to develop and offer better products and services, in different
aspects (e.g., quality, precision, timeliness) within the ecosystem. The work from He, Tian, Hung, Akula,
and Zhang (2017) in this special issue shows how user generated content from social media can be
analysed to improve consumer service quality. Indeed, they argue that the combination of social media
analytics with traditional methods of data gathering and analysis (e.g., surveys, focus groups) may lead to
a more realistic understanding of consumers’ capabilities and needs.

Both private and public organizations have been implementing different techniques to benefit from the
available big data and business analytics, (e.g., mobile, network, web, and text analytics). The main focus
of private organizations is to increase business value, while of public organizations to offer better services
to the citizens and improve society. However, private and public organizations are not at the same level of
maturity in relation to their big data analytics implementations, partly because they have different goals,
but also because they have different resources and access to different types of data (Kim, Trimi, & Chung,

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

2014). For example, a company may own data from web-based or mobile transactions with customers, or
sensor-based data from mobile phones. On the other hand, a public organization may own data from
transactions with citizens and data from legacy systems within its departments. Okwechime, Duncan, and
Edgar (2017) in this special issue argue that public organizations are trying to catch up with organizations
from the private sectors in the use of big data. Within the context of an ecosystem it is expected that
knowledge transfer from companies could help public organizations to improve their skills and outcomes
from analysing big data, however Okwechime et al. (2017) point out that if their respective differences are
not considered, friction and disconnection among them may occur. In order to achieve digital
transformation, we need to evolve and change the ways that public and private organizations in the
ecosystem (as well as the rest of the actors) interact, cooperate, and collaborate. Combining big data from
contemporary technologies (e.g., smartphones) with current low technology services (e.g., water and
electricity utilities) is a way to achieve digital transformation and create sustainable societies (George et
al., 2014). To this end, Golightly, Kefalidou, and Sharples (2017), describe how different sectors (e.g.,
power generation, transport, manufacturing) are adopting big data and analytics tools for data-driven
decisions and solutions. Their findings show that organizations need to go beyond their common data-
driven design approaches, improve users’ ability to interpret data and use it to take decision-driven
approaches. Similar approaches have been proposed in the public sector (Matheus, Janssen, &
Maheshwari, 2018), where helping governments to understand big and open data through data-driven
dashboards can help decision-driven processes and improve the relation among citizens with governments.

Different types of data are available to the actors of the ecosystem, depending on their role, however it has
been shown that they can create the necessary opportunities that may disrupt industries and transform
societies. Based on the notion of creative economy, many societal problems may be solved through
individual creativity, instead of big companies or organizations, which requires the convergence of
technologies and knowledge, leading to the creation of new companies and economic growth (Howkins,
2002). Individuals, such as entrepreneurs and innovators, can use available big data (e.g., public or open
data) to develop new products or services that can transform a market or an industry (George et al., 2014).
An individual may also drive innovation as a customer if the companies provides the necessary tools to
design and develop their own products (Thomke & Von Hippel, 2002) thus leading to value co-creation
(Vargo, Maglio, & Akaka, 2008). Big data and business analytics, as resources, may be transformed to
assets that interconnect firms with customers and foster cooperation and value co-creation (Xie, Wu, Xiao,
& Hu, 2016). Thus, a stakeholder may have multiple roles and contribute in multiple ways in creating
value within the ecosystem. Indeed, the value of big data and business analytics has been established for
addressing complex technical and business challenges (Chen et al., 2012). However their social value still
remains unclear (Agarwal & Dhar, 2014), with most of the studies in the area overlooking the potential of
big data and business analytics into solving social problems (Zicari, 2014). Since our goal is digital
transformation towards the creation of sustainable societies, it is critical to answer the question on how
well big data and business analytics can be used to solve complex societal challenges.

A core issue in the above discussion is the education of professionals that are capable of undertaking such
tasks. While much discussion has focused around the role of the data scientist in contemporary organizations
(Davenport & Patil, 2012), recent literature also expanded on the role of managers in the age of big data
(Ransbotham, Kiron, & Prentice, 2015). Such practice-driven articles highlight the importance that big data
analytics have on a growing number of organizations, and the requirement of individuals to be

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

knowledgeable about the use of big data analytics. In fact, several recent studies have delved on the
multiplicity of necessary skills that are looked for in industry (De Mauro, Greco, Grimaldi, & Nobili,
2016; Mikalef, Giannakos, Pappas, & Krogstie, 2018). Such studies show that there are large gaps in the
skills that graduates possess and those that are needed in industry. In addition, they illustrate the diversity
of the necessary skills, that amongst others include skills in programming, research methods, data
handling, visualization tools, soft skills, domain knowledge, and strong cooperation competencies. With
the importance of big data analytics growing in contemporary business ecosystems, the need for highly
skilled individuals is ever increasing. Thus, a major area of interest in the upcoming years will be on the
development of course curricula and support learning tools that facilitate education in such broad skill-
sets, and rapid adaptation according to market demands.

In today’s digital era, public and private organizations, academia, industry, governments, and individuals
generate vast amounts of ubiquitous data, spawning into new capabilities and opportunities, and creating
value through new business strategies, policies, etc. Thus, we view society as a big data and business
analytics ecosystem on which data, information, and knowledge is shared and transferred among its
stakeholders, in order to achieve digital transformation and create sustainable societies. The formation of
such ecosystems allows the collaboration, cooperation, and coopetition among its multiple actors, towards
the creation of new possibilities for companies and governments to address consumers’ and citizens’
needs, that can also lead to new business opportunities for entrepreneurs, innovators, and firms in order to
develop innovative digital data-based designs and transform current business models. Lastly, a big open
data ecosystem will empower the individuals in controlling their lives, choosing what to share, and inspire
them to be more active by assuming other roles within the ecosystem. The creation of big data and
business analytics ecosystems has the potential to lead to digital transformation, and at the same time it
may transform theory and practice in IS, management, technology, and innovation.

3 Focus of the special issue

The main objective of this special issue is to provide theoretical discussion and empirical support to better
understand what is the role of big data and business analytics in 21 st century’s ecosystems, and to develop
a research agenda for the future. The call for papers generated a number of submissions but not all of them
met the criteria of this special issue. After two or three rounds of review, five papers were finally
accepted. The papers appearing in this special issue cover different aspects surrounding the areas of big
data and business analytics ecosystems, while exploring how analytics may create or increase business
value through various perspectives.

The first two papers address dynamic capabilities and how they can improve business intelligence agility and
business value. The two papers complement each other. Knabke and Olbrich (2017) empirically demonstrate
the importance of organizations’ assets, external, and internal view in increasing business intelligence agility,
while Mikalef et al. (2017) provide a systematic literature review in the area of big data analytics and identify
how big data analytics capabilities may increase business value (i.e., innovation, agility, firm performance).
Furthermore, Mikalef et al. (2017) call for more empirical studies in the area and develop a research agenda
which distinguishes six core areas of investigation, with the study by Knabke and Olbrich (2017) answering to
this call in the present special issue. Next, the work from He et al. (2017) is a

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

quantitative study that analyses content produced by individuals on social media and examines how it can
improve service quality, which may have a potential impact on both public and private sector since service
quality is important to all users, either as citizens or as consumers. Finally, the special issue includes two
papers that take a qualitative approach to examine the role of big data and their value in public and private
sector organizations. The works from Okwechime et al. (2017) and Golightly et al. (2017) provide a
comprehensive picture and complement each other as they provide insight on how big data can be used in
public and private organizations settings, respectively, for increased performance, better services, and
improved solutions to existing problems.

Knabke and Olbrich (2017) take a dynamic capability approach to better understand and explain agile
business intelligence systems. In detail, the authors highlight the need to bridge the gap between
organizations’ long-term strategies and agile adaption to dynamic environments based on shifting market
demands. This study attempts to answer how, and which, dynamic capabilities influence business
intelligence agility, and if emerging technologies influence business intelligence agility. The authors
develop a research model based on which dynamic capabilities (i.e., adoption of business intelligence
assets, market understanding and intimacy with business intelligence, and business operations with
business intelligence) influence business intelligence agility. The model is tested through a quantitative
study that includes 110 participants that work in various industries. The findings show that adoption of
emerging technologies, well-trained staff, corresponding organizational structures, and strategy alignment
are essential for an organization to achieve business intelligence agility. This study offers theoretical
grounding on the importance of asset adoption and integration of external and internal view for more agile
supply of information and decision preparation, in today’s turbulent business environments.

Mikalef et al. (2017) posit that the technologies that enable big data correspond only partially to their value,
instead multiple and complex relations, infused with organizational capabilities, are required to unlock their full
potential for organizations and firms in increasing value and gaining competitive advantage. The study draws
from the resource-based theory and dynamic capabilities view of the firm to develop a research framework that
improves our understanding of the role of big data analytics in offering firms a competitive advantage and
increasing business value. The authors adopt the notion of big data analytics capability which refers to a firm’s
proficiency in orchestrating and managing its big data-related resources to gain strategic and operational
insight. Through a systematic literature review, Mikalef et al. (2017) define big data, big data analytics, and big
data analytics capabilities, while highlighting their main differences. Their findings lead to six thematic areas
for big data analytics research, along with a discussion on what mechanisms should be leveraged to harness the
great potential of big data analytics for organizations. The paper provides a holistic research framework for big
data analytics that will lead to more theoretically driven research in the area, while at the same time it contains
notions that may be adopted by different firms and organizations.

He et al. (2017) link industry and civil society, as they use user generated content from social media to
investigate consumer behaviour. In detail, they propose a framework that based on social media analytics aims
to improve service quality. To this end, the authors suggest that combining well-defined traditional metrics on
service quality with big data analytics platforms, will lead to improved service quality and impact business
value. Based on the fact that an increasing number of consumers post their shopping experience on social
media, the authors perform a case study about two large retailers in the United States of America. After
gathering about half a million tweets, they analyse social media mentions, perform sentiment analysis,

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

and compare different service quality metrics. The findings verify the fact that social media analytics can
provide useful insight on what consumers think or feel and allow a better understanding of their
perceptions on service quality. The authors argue that combining social media analytics with traditional
methods of data gathering and analysis (e.g., surveys, focus groups) will lead to a more realistic
understanding of consumer needs.

Okwechime et al. (2017) identify new ways on how big data can be used by public sector organizations to
offer better solutions to smart cities. In detail, they posit that the successful implementation of big data by
the public sector for smart cities initiatives, depends on the organizations’ ability to embed acquired
knowledge. To this end, the authors take an organizational learning approach to examine how public
organizations exploit big data to carry out smart city initiatives, and present a conceptual model that
outlines an iterative process which forms a learning ecosystem within organizations. Their study shows
that the implementation of big data may affect the knowledge and power dynamics in terms of how these
organizations operated before. The findings show that knowledge finding and reframing, along with inter-
organizational collaborations and ex-post evaluations are needed for organizations to learn how to use and
introduce big data, thus providing the groundwork for smart cities to fully explore and exploit the
potential of big data.

Golightly et al. (2017) examine the role of big data in the industry and private organizations, in order to
identify the factors that support or inhibit the design and deployment of predictive asset management.
They differentiate from previous studies in the area of predictive management that focus on the
technology (i.e., sensors and algorithms), by addressing user and organizational issues. To this end, the
authors perform a cross-sector analysis to identify issues across the data-driven technology lifecycle,
through conception, development, and long-term deployment. By conducting interviews with experts from
different sectors, a framework is created that covers project motivations and conception, design and
development, and operation. Their findings provide important themes towards decision driven approach to
design, instead of more common data driven approaches. The paper contributes towards the need to
improve data interpretation by users, as well as the improvement of management and maintenance of key
assets that can increase business value.

4 Conclusions and the way ahead

The value of digital transformations that emerges through big data analytics ecosystems is an area that is going
to attract a lot of attention in the upcoming years. In doing so, it is important to understand first the different
actors, the data they generate, and how they interact, and second the necessary capabilities that need to be
developed to harness this potential. The proposed Digital Transformation and Sustainability (DTS) model is a
step towards this direction. Developing a data-driven culture within organizations, investing in appropriate
technology, fostering technical and managerial skills, and promoting a climate of organizational learning are
critical factors in realizing value. It is also important to recognize that value can emerge through different
means, and can therefore be captured through different measures. While some organizations or entrepreneurs
may focus on driving business value and keeping ahead of competitors, others may have a view of facilitating
societal change, therefore generating value that impacts both them and the society overall. As business models
become increasingly more oriented towards societal and

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

individual needs, so will big data analytics ecosystems emerge as a driver of digital transformation and
sustainability to fulfil this need. To this end, we propose the following research directions:

• The role of data actors. How actively may data actors be involved in order to shape the digital
transformation and development of the sustainable societies? These actors generate the data, own
the data, and have the potential to benefit from the data. The data actors are typically involved in
top-down approaches of data analysis, but they may also be involved in participatory (bottom-up)
endeavours shaping how digital transformation will impact and change society.
• Data capacities and availability. Further research is required on regulations around data in the
digital society (e.g., GDPR). This needs to take into account the capacity and availability of big
data, as well as differences between countries, continents, and cultures towards the creation of
unified practices and regulations. This will require improved integration and adoption of powerful
data collection technologies (e.g., smartphone sensors) and methods (e.g., real-time analysis).
• Adoption at leadership and management level. Future research needs to examine how the different
leaders and organizational structures are willing to adopt and implement data-driven methods in
their decision-making processes. This requires a change in the culture of current organizations,
which will also allow them to revise their contemporary routines to create value and achieve
business or social change.
• Data-driven sustainable development. Current practices and strategies are expected to build upon
data-driven methods, thus we need a deeper understanding of how they can co-exist and co-evolve
in the digital society. Various challenges exist before such a transformation can be achieved, and
thus we need to change the existing process of how we design information technology and digital
practices in our research.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Editors in Chief, Jörg Becker and Michael J. Shaw, for giving us the
opportunity to work in this special issue. Also, we are grateful to our reviewers who have read the
manuscripts for this special issue, as without their help and support this special issue would not have been
possible. Last but not least, a special thanks to all the authors who submitted papers to this special issue.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme, under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreements No. 751550 and No 704110.

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

References

Adner, R., & Kapoor, R. (2010). Value creation in innovation ecosystems: How the structure of
technological interdependence affects firm performance in new technology generations.
Strategic management journal, 31(3), 306-333.
Agarwal, R., & Dhar, V. (2014). Editorial—Big data, data science, and analytics: The opportunity
and challenge for IS research. Informations Systems Research, 25(3), 443-448.
Benn, S., Edwards, M., & Williams, T. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability:
Routledge.
Carayannis, E. G., & Campbell, D. F. (2009). 'Mode 3'and'Quadruple Helix': toward a 21st century fractal
innovation ecosystem. International journal of technology management, 46(3-4), 201-234.
Carlsson, C. (2017). Decision analytics—Key to digitalisation. Information Sciences, 460-461, 424-438.
Chen, H., Chiang, R. H., & Storey, V. C. (2012). Business Intelligence and Analytics: From Big Data to
Big Impact. MIS quarterly, 36(4), 1165-1188.
Curry, E. (2016). The big data value chain: definitions, concepts, and theoretical approaches. In Cavanillas
J., C. E., & W. W. (Eds.), New Horizons for a Data-Driven Economy (pp. 29-37): Springer,
Cham.
Davenport, T. H., & Patil, D. (2012). Data scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century.
Harvard Business Review, 90(5), 70-76.
De Mauro, A., Greco, M., Grimaldi, M., & Nobili, G. (2016). Beyond Data Scientists: a Review of Big
Data Skills and Job Families. Proceedings of IFKAD, 1844-1857.
Drucker, P. (2014). Innovation and entrepreneurship: Routledge.
Etzkowitz, H., & Carvalho de Mello, J. M. (2004). The rise of a triple helix culture: Innovation in
Brazilian economic and social development. International Journal of Technology Management
& Sustainable Development, 2(3), 159-171.
George, G., Haas, M. R., & Pentland, A. (2014). Big data and management. Academy of
Management Journal, 57(2), 321-326.
Golightly, D., Kefalidou, G., & Sharples, S. (2017). A cross-sector analysis of human and
organisational factors in the deployment of data-driven predictive maintenance. Information
Systems and e-Business Management, 1-22. doi:10.1007/s10257-017-0343-1
Grant, R. M. (1991). The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: implications for
strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114-135.
Gupta, M., & George, J. F. (2016). Toward the development of a big data analytics capability.
Information
& Management, 53(8), 1049-1064.
He, W., Tian, X., Hung, A., Akula, V., & Zhang, W. (2017). Measuring and comparing service quality
metrics through social media analytics: a case study. Information Systems and e-Business
Management, 1-22. doi:10.1007/s10257-017-0360-0
Hoffman, A. (2018). The Next Phase of Business Sustainability. Stanford Social Innovation
Review, Spring 2018.
Howkins, J. (2002). The creative economy: How people make money from ideas: Penguin UK.
Kim, G.-H., Trimi, S., & Chung, J.-H. (2014). Big-data applications in the government sector.
Communications of the ACM, 57(3), 78-85.
Knabke, T., & Olbrich, S. (2017). Building novel capabilities to enable business intelligence agility:
results from a quantitative study. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 1-54.
doi:10.1007/s10257-017-0361-z

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

Loebbecke, C., & Picot, A. (2015). Reflections on societal and business model transformation arising
from digitization and big data analytics: A research agenda. The Journal of Strategic
Information Systems, 24(3), 149-157.
Matheus, R., Janssen, M., & Maheshwari, D. (2018). Data science empowering the public: Data-
driven dashboards for transparent and accountable decision-making in smart cities.
Government Information Quarterly. doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2018.01.006
Mayer-Schönberger, V., & Cukier, K. (2013). Big data: A revolution that will transform how we live,
work, and think: John Murray (Publishers), London. ISBN: 978-1-84854793-3.
Mayhew, H., Saleh, T., & Williams, S. (2016). Making data analytics work for you—instead of the
other way around. McKinsey Quarterly October, 4, 29-41
McAfee, A., & Brynjolfsson, E. (2012). Big data: the management revolution. Harvard Business
Review, 90(10), 60-68.
Mikalef, P., Giannakos, M. N., Pappas, I. O., & Krogstie, J. (2018). The Human Side of Big Data:
Understanding the skills of the data scientist in education and industry. Paper presented at
the Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 2018 IEEE, Tenerife, Spain.
Mikalef, P., Pappas, I. O., Krogstie, J., & Giannakos, M. (2017). Big data analytics capabilities:
a systematic literature review and research agenda. Information Systems and e-Business
Management. doi:10.1007/s10257-017-0362-y
Moore, J. F. (1996). The death of competition: leadership and strategy in the age of business ecosystems:
HarperBusiness New York.
Ng, A. (2018, March 2018) How artificial intelligence and data add value to businesses. McKinsey
Global Institute.
Okwechime, E., Duncan, P., & Edgar, D. (2017). Big data and smart cities: a public sector
organizational learning perspective. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 1-25.
doi:10.1007/s10257-017-0344-0
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2019). Creating shared value. In G. Lenssen & N. Smith
(Eds.), Managing Sustainable Business (Vol. 89, pp. 327-350): Springer, Dordrecht.
Ransbotham, S., Kiron, D., & Prentice, P. K. (2015). Minding the analytics gap. MIT sloan
management review, 56(3), 63.
Reed, D. A., & Dongarra, J. (2015). Exascale computing and big data. Communications of the
ACM, 58(7), 56-68.
Tansley, A. G. (1935). The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. Ecology, 16(3), 284-307.
Thomke, S., & Von Hippel, E. (2002). Customers as innovators: a new way to create value. Harvard
Business Review, 80(4), 74-85.
Tsujimoto, M., Kajikawa, Y., Tomita, J., & Matsumoto, Y. (2017). A review of the ecosystem concept—
Towards coherent ecosystem design. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, (in press).
doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2017.06.032
Vargo, S. L., Maglio, P. P., & Akaka, M. A. (2008). On value and value co-creation: A service systems
and service logic perspective. European management journal, 26(3), 145-152.
Vidgen, R., Shaw, S., & Grant, D. B. (2017). Management challenges in creating value from business
analytics. European Journal of Operational Research, 261(2), 626-639.
Wamba, S. F., Gunasekaran, A., Akter, S., Ren, S. J.-f., Dubey, R., & Childe, S. J. (2017). Big data
analytics and firm performance: Effects of dynamic capabilities. Journal of Business
Research, 70, 356-365.

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z
 Big Data and Business Analytics Ecosystems Pappas et al.

Wilkinson, M. D., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, I. J., Appleton, G., Axton, M., Baak, A., . . . Bourne, P. E.
et al. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship.
Scientific data, 3, 160018 doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.18.
Xie, K., Wu, Y., Xiao, J., & Hu, Q. (2016). Value co-creation between firms and customers: The role of
big data-based cooperative assets. Information & Management, 53(8), 1034-1048.
Zicari, R. V. (2014). Big data: Challenges and opportunities. In R. Akerkar (Ed.), Big data computing (pp.
103–128): Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Information Systems and e-Business Management

DOI: 10.1007/s10257-018-0377-z

View publication stats