IT-organizational affordances and business model configuration in healthcare big data initiatives

Big Data (BD) analysis is seen as an opportunity for value creation. Given an ever-increasing availability of data, organizations are challenged in finding new ways to create value, generate competitive advantage and gain business insights. This thesis cares about business transformation and value creation through BD and focuses on linking BD and Business Model (BM). To profit from BD opportunities, or BD affordances, organizations have to adjust, replace, or create new BM. In this context, my research question is: †œHow IT-organizational affordances get actualized through BM configuration?†�. Answering, I root my research in Affordance Theory and BM literatures. This thesis presents a research framework that integrates the two domains of research and that aims to describe the process that healthcare organizations perform to configure their BM actualizing a specific set of BD affordances. I state that BM configuration can be interpreted in terms as affordance actualization. The research model allows a better understanding of the relationship between IT-organizational affordances and business value. In the research model, technology affordance theory is used to highlights the potential value that can be generated by BD technology. The analysis is based on multiple case studies on five Italian healthcare providers (plus a pilot case study). This thesis provides insights on the different BD affordances that generate BD Initiatives and on the actions that healthcare organizations take in order to exploit the BD potentials. This paper contributes to shed light on the affordance actualization process, advancing affordance theory by offering an integrative framework that suggests actions.