BEYOND TECHNOLOGY: MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES IN THE BIG DATA ERA

Abstract

The ability of organizations to produce, collect, manage, analyze, and transform data has increased rapidly over the past decade (Delen & Zolbanin, 2018). This has resulted in significant new challenges regarding how data can be leveraged for improving business decisions and how this new scenario changes business processes and operations (Vidgen, Shaw, & Grant, 2017). The widespread adoption of advanced analytical methods (e.g., machine learning) has attracted significant interest (Gupta, Deokar, Iyer, Sharda, & Schrader, 2018; Vassakis, Petrakis, & Kopanakis, 2018) particularly because the required data storage and methods can be accessed remotely through web-based interfaces such as cloud services. This has resulted in an increased belief that businesses must actively engage with this technology to remain competitive. However, this Red Queen scenario comes at a cost as collecting, curating, and managing large datasets requires expertise and dedicated staff, often consuming resources that do not contribute to core business activities. Consider the fact that there is an increasing role for data scientists and data engineers, among others, within organizations (Davenport & Patil, 2012). Roles such as Chief Data Officer (CDO) and Chief Analytics Officer (CAO) are now commonplace within most organizations.