Mind Your Data: An Empirical Analysis of How Data Influence Value Realization

We analyze how data characteristics can influence value realization. Many studies on data-driven value realization characterize data as universal and de-contextualized resources that are similar across various contexts, and assume that data inherently enable organizations to realize value. We criticize these assumptions and thus call for a perspective that treats data as a contextually situated actor. We frame data-driven value realization as a strategizing process in which data play different roles and study this process at a European postal service organization. We examine how organizational actors strategized with data over time, causing the organization to move in different strategic directions. We theorize how different characteristics of data influenced how the organizations moved across two dimensions: 1) exploring beyond vs. exploiting the existing value proposition, and 2) closed vs. open modes of collaboration. We show that a given characteristic of data can have different influences on value realization, depending on the strategic direction of the organization. Relatedly, we show that data characteristics do not only enable, but also limit organizations to realize value. As such, we contribute to theories on why organizations may struggle to realize value from data.