Measuring Cross-national Differences: The Opportunities and Challenges of Big Data

Abstract

As scholars in international business are increasingly calling to advance current research on cross-national cultures and distance, the rise of big data provides a timely opportunity to analyze nations and cultures by observing actual behaviors of people around the globe. However, the difficulties underlying collection, analysis and interpretation of big data are substantial. The unstructured nature of big data, combined with its sheer volume turn many popular methods unworkable and demands a new set of sophisticated techniques. Integrating the empirical relationships discovered through big data analytics with current theoretical frameworks of cross-national distance presents another important challenge. This needs an in-depth discussion over the potential as well as the challenges of using big data in research on cross- national distance. Responding to this need, our panel seeks to bring together the scholars with expertise in cross-national research with prominent big data experts. The panel aims at appreciating the research progress made through traditional measures of cross-national distance while simultaneously evaluating the prospects of using big data to advance current understanding of cross-national differences. Special emphasis will be placed on the practical issues as well as possible solutions of dealing with big Data.