Managing Big data for firm performance: A configurational approach

Big data are challenging organizations to find a thoughtful, holistic approach to data, analysis and information management to facilitate timely and sound decisions making, and in turn to gain competitive advantages. Managing big data is not a simple technical issue, but a complex managerial and strategic one. To achieve the vast potential of big data not only will enterprise IT architectures need to change, firms also need a new strategy, a new mind set, and a capability to deal with unexpected environmental turbulences. In this paper, we present a conceptual model and a novel analysis method, fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to model and interpret interdependent non-linear relationships among elements and the outcome, performance. We posit that data management strategy, big data competence, IT capability and organization improvisational capability are interdependent and mutual reinforcing that form a network of nonlinear influential factors for firm decision quality and in turn, performance.