Unlocking the Potential of Big Data: Establishing System Trust Through Open Innovation Ecosystems

ABSTRACT This paper explores the vital role of system trust in big data and the advantages of open innovation ecosystems to develop trust‐enhancing technologies and foster system trust in relation to big data. Based on 3 years of empirical data from the oil and gas industry, we have performed a detailed analysis of the dynamic nature of big data‐centred innovation ecosystems. Our study has revealed that access to trusted big data is instrumental for overcoming the technical, legal and practise‐related challenges of creating value from big data. The findings contribute to system trust and innovation ecosystems, by demonstrating how the Open Subsurface Data Universe (OSDU) innovation ecosystem has employed legitimacy building, institutionalisation and innovation dissemination throughout its evolution to establish and maintain system trust in big data. For managers, this study offers important insights into the various strategies needed to create value from big data.