Paper Title: The Impact of Big Data Adoption on SMEs’ Performance
Authors: Nasrollahi M, Ramezani J, Sadraei M.
Publication year: 2021
Link to Article: https://www.mdpi.com/2504-2289/5/4/68 https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc5040068
Paper Summary
The paper’s main goal is to investigate the adoption of Big Data in SMEs and its impact on a company’ organizational performance.
A set of hypotheses designed to evaluate what factor can impact positively or negatively Big Data adoption are tested alongside other hypotheses whose goals are to determine the effect of Big Data on various company factors.
The paper’s conclusion state that Big Data adoption has a positive impact on many metrics used to assess a company organizational performance and thus encourage managers to pursue Big Data adoption in order to strengthen their company.
Is the research question or objective clearly stated?
The research question and objective of the papers are clearly stated in its abstract : what are the implications of Big Data adoption for SMEs and which factors have an impact
Is the research question interesting and important?
Yes.
SMEs are a major backbone of most developed economies and thus it appears important to know how transformative technology such as big data can affect them and how SMEs can harness its potential.
SME encounters a particular set of issues when it comes to dealing with new technologies and the more litterature is available on the subject the better is it for managers to inform their decisions.
Is the work original?
Yes.
As stated in the paper there’s not much literature on the subject of SMEs regarding big data adoption, moreover the paper focuses on iranian companies whose size is smaller than 250 employees which makes it particularly specific and therefore increases its originality.
Is the background research clear and relevant?
Yes there has been a thorough literature review of about twenty papers and authors that seems reputable.
In addition the papers cited references are numerous and mostly recent.
Are there ethical problems?
It doesn’t appear to have ethical problems like conflicts of interests, moreover the research seems to be conducted by several European structures and universities which might indicate a certain level of scrutiny that would deter ethical issues.
Summary of research method
The paper research method is based on quantitative data gathered through surveys filled by SMEs managers.
The gathered data are using a 7 points Likert scale (completely disagree to completely agree) and were “validated” using Kolmogorov-Smirnoff and Cronbach’s Alpha.
The hypotheses are then tested using Structural Equation Modeling.
Does the research method seem appropriate for the research question?
Yes, using quantitative data from surveying experts seems appropriate since it might lessen the noise and personal bias encountered in qualitative data.
The researchers might have relied on specific KPIs designed by themselves but since the study encompasses various fields of the industry it seems to make sense to let the chosen expert answer questions based on their own metrics and KPIs rather than using generic researcher-made ones.
Using this quantitative approach also enables the use of statistical methods like Kolmogorov-Smirnoff directly on the raw data rather than on the researcher created data based on qualitative data which might introduce another layer of bias.
Are the methods adequately described?
Yes the methods seem adequately described even though most of the hypotheses variables used in the SEM are derived from cited papers there’s no possibility to match them with the corresponding survey questions which might hinder reproducibility.
Were the analyses done correctly?
The researchers seem to have used widely used and reliable methods for the data “validation” and analysis.
Are the conclusions supported by the data?
The stated conclusions seem to be supported by the result of the researchers analysis however without access to the survey questions and how they are linked to each stated factor it is not totally possible to validate that point.
Is the work well presented?
Yes the work seems well presented and uses sections, tables and other means of making the information more easily understandable even though more sub titles might have been beneficial for some long paragraphs.
Is the paper well structured?
Yes the paper makes adequate use of sections and titles to hierarchically present the information in a relevant way.
Are symbols, terms and concepts adequately defined?
Yes a small glossary defining every terms and abbreviations is provided however all the factors used in the hypotheses even though they are derived from cited papers are not clearly defined in the paper itself.
Would additional tables, figures help to clarify the work?
A definition of every factor used and the linked survey questions could be beneficial.
ISADT - Salford University 