New challenges for public value and accountability in the age of big data: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the literacy corpus regarding the potential of big data to improve public decision-making processes and direct these processes toward the creation of public value. This paper presents a map of current knowledge in a sample of selected articles and explores the intersecting points between data from the private sector and the public dimension in relation to benefits for society. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric analysis was performed to provide a retrospective review of published content in the past decade in the field of big data for the public interest. This paper describes citation patterns, key topics and publication trends. Findings The findings indicate a propensity in the current literature to deal with the issue of data value creation in the private dimension (data as input to improve business performance or customer relations). Research on data for the public good has so far been underestimated. Evidence shows that big data value creation is closely associated with a collective process in which multiple levels of interaction and data sharing develop between both private and public actors in data ecosystems that pose new challenges for accountability and legitimation processes. Research limitations/implications The bibliometric method focuses on academic papers. This paper does not include conference proceedings, books or book chapters. Consequently, a part of the existing literature was excluded from the investigation and further empirical research is required to validate some of the proposed theoretical assumptions. Originality/value Although this paper presents the main contents of previous studies, it highlights the need to systematize data-driven private practices for public purposes. This paper offers insights to better understand these processes from a public management perspective.