The Information Panopticon in the Big Data Era

Abstract

Taking advantage of big data opportunities is challenging for traditional organizations. In this article, we take a panoptic view of big data – obtaining information from many sources and making it visible to all organizational levels. We suggest that big data requires the transformation from command and control hierarchies to post-bureaucratic organizational structures wherein employees at all levels can be empowered while simultaneously being controlled. We derive propositions that show how to best exploit big data technologies in organizations.