IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v145y2017i3d10.1007_s10551-015-2904-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Big Data: A Normal Accident Waiting to Happen?

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Nunan

    (University of Reading)

  • Marialaura Di Domenico

    (University of Surrey)

Abstract

Widespread commercial use of the internet has significantly increased the volume and scope of data being collected by organisations. ‘Big data’ has emerged as a term to encapsulate both the technical and commercial aspects of this growing data collection activity. To date, much of the discussion of big data has centred upon its transformational potential for innovation and efficiency, yet there has been less reflection on its wider implications beyond commercial value creation. This paper builds upon normal accident theory (NAT) to analyse the broader ethical implications of big data. It argues that the strategies behind big data require organisational systems that leave them vulnerable to normal accidents, that is to say some form of accident or disaster that is both unanticipated and inevitable. Whilst NAT has previously focused on the consequences of physical accidents, this paper suggests a new form of system accident that we label data accidents. These have distinct, less tangible and more complex characteristics and raise significant questions over the role of individual privacy in a ‘data society’. The paper concludes by considering the ways in which the risks of such data accidents might be managed or mitigated.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Nunan & Marialaura Di Domenico, 2017. "Big Data: A Normal Accident Waiting to Happen?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 481-491, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:145:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2904-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2904-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-015-2904-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-015-2904-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nick Pidgeon, 2011. "In retrospect: Normal Accidents," Nature, Nature, vol. 477(7365), pages 404-405, September.
    2. Karlene H. Roberts, 1990. "Some Characteristics of One Type of High Reliability Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(2), pages 160-176, May.
    3. Matthias Fink & Rainer Harms & Isabella Hatak, 2012. "Nanotechnology and Ethics: The Role of Regulation Versus Self-Commitment in Shaping Researchers’ Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 569-581, September.
    4. Connie Bateman & Sean Valentine & Terri Rittenburg, 2013. "Ethical Decision Making in a Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Situation: The Role of Moral Absolutes and Social Consensus," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 229-240, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Keren Naa Abeka Arthur & Richard Owen, 2019. "A Micro-ethnographic Study of Big Data-Based Innovation in the Financial Services Sector: Governance, Ethics and Organisational Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 363-375, December.
    2. Raturi, Varun & Hong, Jinhyun & McArthur, David Philip & Livingston, Mark, 2021. "The impact of privacy protection measures on the utility of crowdsourced cycling data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Acciarini, Chiara & Cappa, Francesco & Boccardelli, Paolo & Oriani, Raffaele, 2023. "How can organizations leverage big data to innovate their business models? A systematic literature review," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    4. Chanhee Kwak & Junyeong Lee & Heeseok Lee, 2022. "Could You Ever Forget Me? Why People Want to be Forgotten Online," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 25-42, August.
    5. Christopher Baird & Thomas S. Calvard, 2019. "Epistemic Vices in Organizations: Knowledge, Truth, and Unethical Conduct," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 263-276, November.
    6. Calic, Goran & Ghasemaghaei, Maryam, 2021. "Big data for social benefits: Innovation as a mediator of the relationship between big data and corporate social performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 391-401.
    7. Choi, Hyoung-Yong & Park, Junyoung, 2022. "Do data-driven CSR initiatives improve CSR performance? The importance of big data analytics capability," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    8. Andrea North-Samardzic, 2020. "Biometric Technology and Ethics: Beyond Security Applications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 433-450, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michel Anteby & Curtis K. Chan, 2018. "A Self-Fulfilling Cycle of Coercive Surveillance: Workers’ Invisibility Practices and Managerial Justification," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 247-263, April.
    2. Hazhir Rahmandad & Nelson Repenning, 2016. "Capability erosion dynamics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 649-672, April.
    3. Charles Sabel & Gary Herrigel & Peer Hull Kristensen, 2018. "Regulation under uncertainty: The coevolution of industry and regulation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 371-394, September.
    4. Benoît Journé, 2005. "Étudier le management de l’imprévu:méthode dynamique d’observation in situ," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 8(4), pages 63-91, December.
    5. Lu-Ming Tseng, 2019. "How Implicit Ethics Institutionalization Affects Ethical Selling Intention: The Case of Taiwan’s Life Insurance Salespeople," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 727-742, September.
    6. Zhiang (John) Lin & Xia Zhao & Kiran M. Ismail & Kathleen M. Carley, 2006. "Organizational Design and Restructuring in Response to Crises: Lessons from Computational Modeling and Real-World Cases," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(5), pages 598-618, October.
    7. Peter Madsen & Vinit Desai & Karlene Roberts & Daniel Wong, 2006. "Mitigating Hazards Through Continuing Design: The Birth and Evolution of a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(2), pages 239-248, April.
    8. Anke Müssig, 2009. "The Financial Crisis: Caused by Unpreventable or Organized Failures?," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Kavala Campus, Greece, vol. 2(1), pages 51-70, June.
    9. Ying‐Siou Lin & Yen‐Chun Lin & Meei‐Fang Lou, 2017. "Concept analysis of safety climate in healthcare providers," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(11-12), pages 1737-1747, June.
    10. Dmitry Katalevsky, 2023. "New Governance Approaches to Prevent the Collapse of Complex Socioeconomic Systems," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 17(3), pages 56-67.
    11. Robert Goble & Vicki Bier & Ortwin Renn, 2018. "Two Types of Vigilance Are Essential to Effective Hazard Management: Maintaining Both Together Is Difficult," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(9), pages 1795-1801, September.
    12. Bent Flyvbjerg & Alexander Budzier & Daniel Lunn, 2021. "Regression to the tail: Why the Olympics blow up," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(2), pages 233-260, March.
    13. Gokce Basbug & Ayn Cavicchi & Susan S. Silbey, 2023. "Rank Has Its Privileges: Explaining Why Laboratory Safety Is a Persistent Challenge," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 571-587, May.
    14. Vincent Giolito, 2015. "Managing organizational errors: Three theoretical lenses on a bank collapse," Working Papers CEB 15-033, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Michal Krawczyk & Joanna Tyrowicz & Wojciech Hardy, 2020. "Online and physical appropriation: evidence from a vignette experiment on copyright infringement," Behaviour and Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 481-496, April.
    16. J. S. Busby & A. M. Collins, 2014. "Organizational Sensemaking About Risk Controls: The Case of Offshore Hydrocarbons Production," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(9), pages 1738-1752, September.
    17. Zhiang Lin & Kathleen Carley, 1993. "Proactive or Reactive: An Analysis of the Effect of Agent Style on Organizational Decision‐making Performance," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 2(4), pages 271-287, December.
    18. Jonathan Linton & Steven Walsh, 2012. "Introduction to the Field of Nanotechnology Ethics and Policy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 547-549, September.
    19. John W. Gardner & Kenneth K. Boyer & Peter T. Ward, 2017. "Achieving Time-Sensitive Organizational Performance Through Mindful Use of Technologies and Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(6), pages 1061-1079, December.
    20. MacGillivray, Brian H., 2014. "Fast and frugal crisis management: An analysis of rule-based judgment and choice during water contamination events," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(8), pages 1717-1724.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:145:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2904-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.