Take a Look at our latest Research on the Role of SME CEOs in Data Sharing on Industrial Platforms!
The Chair of Industrial Management proudly announces that our latest research article “Exploring Uncharted Territory: CEOs as Gatekeepers in Utilizing Industrial Platforms Through Data Sharing” has been published in the R&D Management Journal (vhb-ranked as B-journal).
This study sheds light on the reasons why companies are reluctant to share data between organizations. By analyzing 42 semi-structured interviews with CEOs of SMEs, we explore the phenomenon of the CEO as a gatekeeper to data sharing and add the inter-organizational context to the silo mentality theory.
Key findings in a nutshell:
️ CEOs of SMEs control their private data and are also gatekeepers for business decisions, such as corporate data sharing
️ The analysis identifies four factors that influence data sharing:
1️⃣ Data characteristics—CEOs perceive social and financial data as sensitive in both private and corporate contexts. CEOs perceive additional types of corporate data as critical and are generally more skeptical of data sharing because of the complexity of data security
2️⃣ Relationships via platforms—companies are often forced to participate in platforms, despite preferring long-term personal relationships
3️⃣ Competition—platforms enable easy and rapid product comparison. SMEs want to avoid transparency and fear that platform providers may compete for specific products
4️⃣ Individual motivation—increased visibility among potential customers is an important incentive for participating in platforms, although CEOs perceive such participation to be time-consuming.
Please feel free to listen to our podcast about this study: https://www.fau.tv/clip/id/56356
Read the full study here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/radm.12760