Big data analytics: achievements, challenges, and research trends

Abstract

Big data applications combined with analytical tools foster prediction techniques that impact societal, economic, and political changes. After almost a decade of studies, this paper proposes to identify major debates on big data analytics, presenting its evolution over the past years and identifying its research tendencies. We limited our research to the top eight journals in information systems. Our findings suggest that big data analytics is apparently reaching a plateau, which might be confirmed by publications in the following years. The paper contributes to the current debate on big data by identifying ongoing studies in the research community. In addition, it provides a critical analysis of the field development, from its perceived benefits to its unimagined consequences. Finally, we conclude that other perspectives on big data analytics might include a new wave of studies and that new paths beyond productivity gains can be explored.