Abstract
PurposeThe proliferation of (big) data provides numerous opportunities for service advances in practice, yet research on using data to advance service is at a nascent stage in the literature. Many studies have discussed phenomenological benefits of data to service. However, limited research describes managerial issues behind such benefits, although a holistic understanding of the issues is essential in using data to advance service in practice and provides a basis for future research. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap.Design/methodology/approach“Using data to advance service” is about change in organizations. Thus, this study uses action research methods of creating real change in organizations together with practitioners, thereby adding to scientific knowledge about practice. The authors participated in five service design projects with industry and government that used different data sets to design new services.FindingsDrawing on lessons learned from the five projects, this study empirically identifies 11 managerial issues that should be considered in data-use for advancing service. In addition, by integrating the issues and relevant literature, this study offers theoretical implications for future research.Originality/value“Using data to advance service” is a research topic that emerged originally from practice. Action research or case studies on this topic are valuable in understanding practice and in identifying research priorities by discovering the gap between theory and practice. This study used action research over many years to observe real-world challenges and to make academic research relevant to the challenges. The authors believe that the empirical findings will help improve service practices of data-use and stimulate future research.
Highlights
With recent advances in data collection technologies, massive amounts and varied kinds of data are collected from individuals and firms in all industries (Atzori et al, 2010)
3.1 Research method selection This study aims to develop a holistic understanding of managerial issues in using data to advance service through action research with five service design projects
Action research is appropriate to achieve our objective because action research is concerned with bringing about change in organizations (Shani and Pasmore, 1985) and our study is concerned with change through use of data; action research aims at developing holistic understanding (Coughlan and Coghlan, 2002) and our study explores a complete spectrum of data-use for service advancement; and foremost, the research topic of using data to advance service emerged from rapidly evolving practice and our study aims to investigate and help improve practice by offering specific actionable knowledge to practitioners
Summary
With recent advances in data collection technologies, massive amounts and varied kinds of data are collected from individuals and firms in all industries (Atzori et al, 2010). The proliferation of (big) data has brought about services in which data-use significantly contributes to value creation. Automobile manufacturers analyze vehicle condition and operations data collected from onboard devices via telematics, and they provide various types of useful information to assist drivers on fuel efficiency, safety, consumable, and navigation (Lim et al, 2015). Insurance companies collect patient data and provide patients with healthcare-related information to improve healthcare safety, reduce cost, and develop sustainable relationships with them (OECD, 2013). Smart band-based fitness tracking services collect data from daily life, such as behavior, health, and food menu data, to help people achieve specific fitness-related goals, such as walking 10,000 steps a day (Takacs et al, 2014). Screen golf training services rely on data of users’ golf swings to train users in achieving better stances and swing angles ( Jung et al, 2010)
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