Management of Big data: An empirical investigation of the Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing effect in medium and large firms

Authors

Keywords:

Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing effect, inverted U-shaped curve, Big data, business value, medium and large firms

Abstract

Firms adopt Big data solutions, but a body of evidence suggests that Big data in some cases may create more problems than benefits. We hypothesize that the problem may not be Big data in itself but rather too much of it. These kinds of effects echo the Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing (TMGT) effect in the field of management. This theory also seems meaningful and applicable in management information systems. We contribute to assessments of the TMGT effect related to Big data by providing an answer to the following question: When does the extension of Big data lead to value erosion? We collected data from a sample of medium and large firms and established a set of regression models to test the relationship between Big data and value creation, considering firm size as a moderator. The data confirm the existence of both an inverted U-shaped curve and firm size moderation. These results extend the applicability of the TMGT effect theory and are useful for firms exploring investments in Big data.

Author Biographies

Claudio Vitari, Aix Marseille Univ, Université de Toulon, CERGAM, FEG, Aix-en-Provence, France

I am Full Professor at Aix-Marseille University (France). My research interests include Information Systems, Strategic Management, Ecological Economics. My publications encompass several articles in journals including Ecological Economics, Systèmes d'Information et Management, European Journal of Information Systems, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, International Journal Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Research & Practice, Journal of Information Technologies: Cases and Applications. Many of my articles are published in the proceedings of different international conferences. I have over 15 years’ experience in teaching, research, management and consulting. I got my Ph.D. from Montpellier University (Montpellier, France) and the Carlo Cattaneo University (Castellanza, Italy). I received my French accreditation to supervise research (HDR) from Montpellier University (Montpellier, France).

Elisabetta Raguseo, Politecnico di Torino, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Gestionale e della Produzione

Elisabetta Raguseo (PhD) is Associate professor in Strategy and Economics at Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and Associate Editor of Information and Management journal and Journal of Travel Research. She is member of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre at the Politecnico di Torino and of the European Industrial Engineering and Management Cluster. She was part of the Group of Experts for the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy of the European Commission (mandate 2018-2021) and a Marie Curie research fellow at the business school Grenoble Ecole de Management (France) in the years 2014-2016. Her research and teaching expertise is in strategic information systems, big data, artificial intelligence, tourism economics and digital transformation. Her research has been published in highly ranked, international journals including Journal of Travel Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Production Research, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Information and Management, International Journal of Information Management and many more.

Federico Pigni, Grenoble Ecole de Management, Management of Technology and Strategy department

Federico Pigni is the Dean of the Faculty of Grenoble Ecole de Management, where he is Professor in Information Systems in the Management of Technology and Strategy department. He graduated cum laude in Business Administration and Management and holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems and Supply Chain Management. Since 1999, he has been working as a lecturer and research assistant at Carlo Cattaneo Unversity. In the following years, he started lecturing at the Catholic University in Milan and in 2007 at the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan (Italy). From 2007 to 2010 he was Senior Researcher at Carlo Cattaneo University's Lab#ID RFId laboratory. From 2000 to 2006 he has been owner of Lab4Consulting, a Web and software consulting company. Since then, his consulting activities have focused on IT-based innovation in the banking industry. In 2006 he also joined France Télécom R&D - Pole Service Sciences in Sophia Antipolis (France) for a post-doctorate, developing methodologies addressing the inter-organizational adoption of ICT. He teaches in the area of Information Systems and has a research interest in the strategic application of information systems in the interorganizational context and the use of innovative digital technologies to deliver customer service.

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Published

2022-07-01

How to Cite

Vitari, C., Raguseo, E., & Pigni, F. (2022). Management of Big data: An empirical investigation of the Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing effect in medium and large firms. Systèmes d’Information Et Management (French Journal of Management Information Systems), 27(3), 87–122. Retrieved from https://revuesim.org/index.php/sim/article/view/1187

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Section

Empirical research