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Everything counts in large amounts: a critical realist case study on data-based production

In: Formulating Research Methods for Information Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Aleksi Aaltonen

    (The London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Niccolo Tempini

    (The London School of Economics and Political Science)

Abstract

Contemporary digital ecosystems produce vast amounts of data every day. The data are often no more than microscopic log entries generated by the elements of an information infrastructure or system. Although such records may represent a variety of things outside the system, their powers go beyond the capacity to carry semantic content. In this article, we harness critical realism to explain how such data come to matter in specific business operations. We analyse the production of an advertising audience from data tokens extracted from a telecommunications network. The research is based on an intensive case study of a mobile network operator that tries to turn its subscribers into an advertising audience. We identify three mechanisms that shape data-based production and three properties that characterize the underlying pool of data. The findings advance the understanding of many organizational settings that are centred on data processing.

Suggested Citation

  • Aleksi Aaltonen & Niccolo Tempini, 2015. "Everything counts in large amounts: a critical realist case study on data-based production," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Leslie P. Willcocks & Chris Sauer & Mary C. Lacity (ed.), Formulating Research Methods for Information Systems, chapter 17, pages 325-357, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-50988-8_9
    DOI: 10.1057/9781137509888_9
    as

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