Unlocking the full potential of Big Data: A change management approach
(2015) MGTN59 20151Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Big Data has experienced recent developments in the field of Business Intelligence and has captured the increasing interest of enterprises who are trying to seize its potential. More and more companies, operating in industries ranging from insurance to the entertainment industry, are moving forward with the adoption of Big Data, in an attempt to gain significant benefits, such as customer insight, increased value, faster decision-making, and the ability to maintain competitive advantage. Although a few companies, such as Amazon, Google, IBM and Netflix, have managed to reap the benefits from Big Data, most firms are in the very early stages of addressing the challenges presented by this new phenomenon and they still struggle to adapt to... (More)
- Big Data has experienced recent developments in the field of Business Intelligence and has captured the increasing interest of enterprises who are trying to seize its potential. More and more companies, operating in industries ranging from insurance to the entertainment industry, are moving forward with the adoption of Big Data, in an attempt to gain significant benefits, such as customer insight, increased value, faster decision-making, and the ability to maintain competitive advantage. Although a few companies, such as Amazon, Google, IBM and Netflix, have managed to reap the benefits from Big Data, most firms are in the very early stages of addressing the challenges presented by this new phenomenon and they still struggle to adapt to the changes that are required by Big Data.
This research aims to apply the theories of change management on the concept of Big Data, in order to develop a strategic model, which can later be used by companies to implement changes that may help in unlocking the full potential of Big Data. For that purpose, a mixed methods approach was chosen and the data was collected through the use of a questionnaire and interviews conducted worldwide with managers, consultants and experts in the field.
The final findings indicate that changes in both corporate resources and culture are necessary. In particular, corporate culture should favor close collaboration and knowledge exchange between data specialists and decision-makers. That is, leaders should encourage this change, and soft skills such us communication, teamwork and problem-solving should be pursued. At the same time, decision-makers should change their mindset, shifting from a decision-making process based on their “gut feeling” to a data-driven approach. The resulting resistance to change can originate from decision-makers mainly due to lack of information about the reasons of the change and from other employees, due to fear of not having the skills required. Moreover, companies where Big Data brings episodic changes are more likely to encounter resistance than others. In order to maximize the benefits of the change, companies should work to prevent and overcome specific instances of resistance by means of education and communication, initiatives for decision-makers and facilitation and support for all employees. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/5473712
- author
- Kalyva, Foteini LU and Ricci, Alice LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MGTN59 20151
- year
- 2015
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Big Data, Business Intelligence, Management, Change Management, Resistance to change
- language
- English
- id
- 5473712
- date added to LUP
- 2015-06-29 14:36:12
- date last changed
- 2015-06-29 14:36:12
@misc{5473712,
abstract = {{Big Data has experienced recent developments in the field of Business Intelligence and has captured the increasing interest of enterprises who are trying to seize its potential. More and more companies, operating in industries ranging from insurance to the entertainment industry, are moving forward with the adoption of Big Data, in an attempt to gain significant benefits, such as customer insight, increased value, faster decision-making, and the ability to maintain competitive advantage. Although a few companies, such as Amazon, Google, IBM and Netflix, have managed to reap the benefits from Big Data, most firms are in the very early stages of addressing the challenges presented by this new phenomenon and they still struggle to adapt to the changes that are required by Big Data.
This research aims to apply the theories of change management on the concept of Big Data, in order to develop a strategic model, which can later be used by companies to implement changes that may help in unlocking the full potential of Big Data. For that purpose, a mixed methods approach was chosen and the data was collected through the use of a questionnaire and interviews conducted worldwide with managers, consultants and experts in the field.
The final findings indicate that changes in both corporate resources and culture are necessary. In particular, corporate culture should favor close collaboration and knowledge exchange between data specialists and decision-makers. That is, leaders should encourage this change, and soft skills such us communication, teamwork and problem-solving should be pursued. At the same time, decision-makers should change their mindset, shifting from a decision-making process based on their “gut feeling” to a data-driven approach. The resulting resistance to change can originate from decision-makers mainly due to lack of information about the reasons of the change and from other employees, due to fear of not having the skills required. Moreover, companies where Big Data brings episodic changes are more likely to encounter resistance than others. In order to maximize the benefits of the change, companies should work to prevent and overcome specific instances of resistance by means of education and communication, initiatives for decision-makers and facilitation and support for all employees.}},
author = {{Kalyva, Foteini and Ricci, Alice}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Unlocking the full potential of Big Data: A change management approach}},
year = {{2015}},
}