The author teams in this Point-Counterpoint (PCP) put forward contrasting views regarding the benefits – or otherwise – of using commercially generated corporate ‘big data’ algorithms to inform scholarly research. In this editorial, I reflect on the lines of reasoning for, and against, whether such data offers a reliable means of building new theory. Are academics who refuse to mine and analyse corporately owned big data taking sensible steps to manage scholarly integrity? Or are they Luddites? I invite readers to consider these timely and provocative PCP articles and to consider the implications, for management studies, of the key arguments presented.
Caught in a Landslide? Exploring how far the increasing focus on Big Data benefits or damages theoretical development in Management Studies
Introduction by Caroline Gatrell
Big Data, Proxies, Algorithmic Decision-Making and the Future of Management Theory
Point by Dirk Lindebaum, Christine Moser & Gazi Islam
Organizations as Algorithms: A New Metaphor for Advancing Management Theory
Counterpoint by Vern L. Glaser, Jennifer Sloan & Joel Gehman
