Implementing Big Data Analytics in Small Firms: A Situated Human Practice Approach

Abstract

AbstractThis study identifies and addresses an important gap in the nascent literature on big data analytics, using a longitudinal case study to investigate the implementation and application of big data analytics into a small firm specialized in transport logistics. Our research is rooted in Practice Theory, considering the implementation of new technologies in organizations as a result of multiple social negotiations, interpretations, and interactions. Our findings indicate the importance and centrality of human factors in decision‐making and operational implementation, technology representing only a means to a clearly specified and collectively assumed objective. Big data analytics adoption and use in the case‐study firm represents a gradual process, with each stage justified by the need to solve the problems caused by heavy and unpredictable road traffic. This approach validates the entrepreneurial effectuation model, which defines a firm's strategy as a fragmented but continuous effort to find and implement effective solutions to the market challenges encountered.