Perspectives on big data

There is much hype associated with the term ‘Big Data’ (BD), and much opportunity in the data that are associated with that term, along with the tools and techniques in existence and being developed to leverage it for decision making and improving the condition of living beings, firms and society. However, many are not clear on what are, or what is meant by the term, ‘Big Data’. The focus of this research was to explore the meaning of BD and to identify important paths of research on BD. As part of this process, we called upon a diverse set of marketing scholars who possess expertise and special insights. We discovered that different communities have different perspectives. It could be argued that they are all correct as they reflect the preferred perspectives of different communities. We find it helpful to think of BD as a term that represents a period of time or era, a process, and data that are from a variety of sources, of various structures or forms, and in a variety of locations. Important research questions and issues related to BD are discussed. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.