Is big data used by cities? Understanding the nature and antecedents of big data use by municipalities

• DOI: 10.1016/j.giq.2021.101600
• Publication Date: 2021-07-08T16:06:16Z
• Authors: Hamza Ali; Ryad Titah
• Keywords: Survey data collection

Abstract It is estimated that by 2050, 70% of the population will be urban (Nations Unies, 2014). This massive urbanization has created unprecedented challenges for cities and city managers which has led many of them to look for technological solutions to address them, including the use of Big Data, which is among the most considered technological support to help improve the overall operational and service delivery of cities. It is estimated that around 7 billion connected objects will soon be implemented in cities worldwide which will produce an unprecedented and massive amount of real-time data that will have to be managed, used, and analyzed effectively. If this massive amount of data is effectively managed and used, it can provide important benefits and produce real positive impacts on the functioning of cities. Nonetheless, despite these benefits, only a few cities are able to use and exploit big data, and some studies have shown that less than 0.5% of all the available data has been explored. The objective of this study is to understand the factors that influence cities to use big data and the nature of such use. Based on a field survey involving 106 municipalities, this study investigates the antecedents of big data use by cities and shows how different sets of antecedents influence three different types of big data use by cities.