Abstract
Public sector organizations (city authorities) have begun to explore ways to exploit big data to provide smarter solutions for cities. The way organizations learn to use new forms of technology has been widely researched. However, many public sector organisations have found themselves in new territory in trying to deploy and integrate this new form of technology (big data) to another fast moving and relatively new concept (smart city). This paper is a cross-sectional scoping study—from two UK smart city initiatives—on the learning processes experienced by elite (top management) stakeholders in the advent and adoption of these two novel concepts. The findings are an experiential narrative account on learning to exploit big data to address issues by developing solutions through smart city initiatives. The findings revealed a set of moves in relation to the exploration and exploitation of big data through smart city initiatives: (a) knowledge finding; (b) knowledge reframing; (c) inter-organization collaborations and (d) ex-post evaluations. Even though this is a time-sensitive scoping study it gives an account on a current state-of-play on the use of big data in public sector organizations for creating smarter cities. This study has implications for practitioners in the smart city domain and contributes to academia by operationalizing and adapting Crossan et al’s (Acad Manag Rev 24(3): 522–537, 1999) 4I model on organizational learning.
Highlights
Big data is poised to change the way we live and work (Manyika et al 2011; MayerSchonberger and Cukier 2013)
The findings revealed a set of moves in relation to the exploration and exploitation of big data through smart city initiatives: (a) knowledge finding; (b) knowledge reframing; (c) inter-organization collaborations and (d) ex-post evaluations
We look to research in organizational learning (OL) to consider how organizations exploit and experience using big data, in this case for carrying out smart city initiatives
Summary
Big data is poised to change the way we live and work (Manyika et al 2011; MayerSchonberger and Cukier 2013). The implications of deploying big data for work, such as in smart city initiatives, has impacted the way organizations operate. George et al (2014) stressed that even though the term big data has become a common business parlance, there has been little research in management scholarly circles. Those that address ‘‘the challenges of using such tools—or, better yet, that explores the promise and opportunities for new theories and practices that big data might bring about’’ This research explores the learning processes involved in how public organizations have been able to embrace big data in providing smart city solutions
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