Data Collaboratives

Abstract

To address complex societal issues, cross-sector partnerships are needed that specifically aim to create value to address such challenges. Data collaboratives are initiatives that encourage and promote such partnerships, by the collection, sharing, or processing of data. Data collaboratives are faced with barriers that complicate collaboration between data contributors and data users. As a result, the potential of public value creation is not being reached. To overcome these barriers, decision-makers in data collaboratives need a better understanding of the Trusted Data Intermediary as a coordination mechanism. Trusted Data Intermediaries are entities entrusted with enabling data transactions between data contributors and data users across sectors, thereby generating value for collaborators, and enabling the creation of public value. Currently, academic knowledge on how these intermediary entities is absent. By a qualitative, exploratory multiple-case study, descriptive business models of six cases are developed and analyzed. From the analysis, it was found that Trusted Data Intermediaries implement different business models, depending on their characteristics in specialization to specific segments of data contributors and users. Further, the implementation may depend on the profit motive and chosen centrality of data storage. Based on these dependencies, two Trusted Data Intermediaries' business model archetypes are developed: the Generic archetype and the Specialized archetype. In addition, variations to these archetypes are discussed. As the two archetypes offer an initial theory on Trusted Data Intermediaries, next steps may include the testing of the archetypes on more cases, as well as extending the theory for Trusted Data Intermediaries with other characteristics.