Measures in organizational behavior: Why don’t we use big data and analytics?

Abstract

Tradeoff analysis, between generalizability, precision, and realism, guides methodological choices in organizational behavior. These methodological choices were systematically reviewed in Brazilian articles and books (1996-2017) to answer the following question: why are there no Brazilian studies on organizational behavior that use big data or analytics? Among 1062 research articles on organizational behavior, published in 19 psychology and business journals, 68% used scales, and only 10% used observation. Observation was often unstructured and supported other methods. The focus was on “saying,” instead of “doing”. Big data and analytics have the potential to simultaneously reach generalizability, precision, and realism and may pave the way for new conclusions. Additionally, these methods could transform research in organizational behavior.