Debating big data: A literature review on realizing value from big data

•Six debates on how organizations realize value from big data are identified.•Portability and interconnectivity are socio-technical features of big data.•Cross-level interactions influence big data value realization.•An integrated model of big data value realization is suggested.

Big data has been considered to be a breakthrough technological development over recent years. Notwithstanding, we have as yet limited understanding of how organizations translate its potential into actual social and economic value. We conduct an in-depth systematic review of IS literature on the topic and identify six debates central to how organizations realize value from big data, at different levels of analysis. Based on this review, we identify two socio-technical features of big data that influence value realization: portability and interconnectivity. We argue that, in practice, organizations need to continuously realign work practices, organizational models, and stakeholder interests in order to reap the benefits from big data. We synthesize the findings by means of an integrated model.