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Technology is a major source of inspiration, innovation and change in today’s business world. Talking shortly after the emergence of the internet, Kranzberg (1986:545) noted:
“Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral… technical developments frequently have environmental, social and human consequences that go far beyond the immediate purposes of the technical devices and practices themselves”.
Around the same time, Solow (1987) gave his paradox: “You can see the computer age everywhere except in the productivity statistics”.
Given these perspectives, this paper revisits the question of the impact that technology has had on business performance and presents evidence suggesting that human interactions with technology and the resulting impact upon productivity are not as straightforward or immediate as it might appear and can be contradictory (Jain & Kanungo, 2005).
Since Kranzberg's and Solow's writing, the growth and development of the internet and mobile technologies has been exponential, transforming ways of working and ways of living. Moreover, its expansion continues, seemingly unabated. Technology companies (typified by companies whose names have become synonymous with particular technologies, such as SAP, Oracle, IBM, Google and Microsoft) promote the need for businesses to exploit large datastreams to boost productivity and thus to create competitive advantage. As the internet matures and becomes ever more embedded in all aspects of our lives the potential of Big Data (BD) appears huge. Commentators such as Bell (2013) and Porter and Heppelmann (2014) encourage such a view. The OECD (2013:4) went so far as to suggest that:
“The exploitation of data promises to create added value in a variety of operations ranging from optimising the value chain and manufacturing production to more efficient use of labour and better customer relationships”.
The implication of this statement is clear - organisations that can harness internally or externally generated data will be able to transform their operational capabilities. There is a collective assumption that the internet and the immense amount of data that it simultaneously creates and makes available to us, will benefit organisations, individuals and society (Barton & Court, 2012; Bughin, Livingston, & Marwaha, 2011).
Interacting with large data sets was once perceived as a problem. Now, computer applications capable of analysing huge data-sets are readily available (Fisher, DeLine, Czerwinski, & Drucker, 2012). More recently however the question of whether BD will ultimately deliver what it promises has been raised (Croxall, 2014; Lury, 2013). Opresnik and Taisch (2015) point out that the challenge for organisations is to develop strategies that exploit BD to generate added-value. Gandomi and Haider (2015) observe that there has been little critical discourse, or empirical academic research, into BD and how it is being harnessed. Although Solow's Paradox emerged at a time when the internet was in its infancy, it may be as relevant today as it was when our interaction with technology was nascent. Although it is fifty years after the emergence of the internet we cannot assume that huge technological innovations have led to comparable increases in productivity. Andrew’s et al. (2016) indicate that productivity growth rates in the OECD have fallen in the last decade. Echoing Solow, historical work by Gordon (2012) suggests that there is a significant lag between the emergence of new technologies and its full impact upon economic growth. Gordon’s research suggests we should not expect to see the potential of BD to be fully realised until well after the hype has died down.
To look beyond the apparent contradictions between promise, hype and reality this research sought to answer primary and secondary research questions, which were: