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Data-driven decision-making in the innovation process of SMEs

Gehrmann, L.C. (2020) Data-driven decision-making in the innovation process of SMEs.

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Abstract:The increase in the amount of data which is collected every day has led to an opportunity for organizations: data-driven decision-making. Data-driven decision-making can offer various advantages to companies of all sizes, such as an improvement of the market value of a company. Also the innovation process can be improved by using data as a decision support. Previous studies about data-driven decision-making and about the innovation process focused mainly on large organizations. However, the usage of data analytics is lagging behind at SMEs. Therefore, this study aims to investigate to what extent SMEs use data-driven decision-making in their innovation process. Qualitative research has been conducted including cases of nine SMEs operating in different industries in order to elaborate SMEs’ perception of data-driven decision- making and the extent to which they use it in their innovation process. The results indicate that the participating SMEs have a basic understanding of the term data-driven decision-making. However, a more comprehensive definition is necessary so that SMEs can fully understand the concept and how it can add value to their organization. Furthermore, it is argued that data- driven decision-making comes along with benefits as well as challenges, which are acknowledged by the participating SMEs. Moreover, the extent to which data-driven decision-making is used in the innovation process depends on the organization but also on the stage of the innovation process. Finally, the research shows that there is room for improvement regarding the data usage in the innovation process of SMEs. This study highlights multiple possibilities which offer potential for the future.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/82879
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