Voorbeeld

A study of how big data maturity influences business
process management in Dutch companies in the

manufacturing industry
This document is not to be copied

by
Rodney van Rijen
2017
Masters Thesis Project
Masters Thesis submitted in accordance with the rules of

TIAS Business School
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
International MSc in Business Administration
Specialization Business Analytics

STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY

I have read the TIAS Regulations relating to plagiarism and
certify that this project is all my own work and does not
contain any unacknowledged work from any other
sources
I confirm that the Word Count as per the TIAS Regulations

is 15.805 words
Name: Rodney van Rijen
Date: 6 September 2017
2
Rodney van Rijen Masters thesis
Keywords and abstract

Student nr.: U765693
Title: A study of how big data maturity influences business process management

in Dutch companies in the manufacturing industry.
Keywords:
Big data; Big data maturity; Data analytics; Business process management; Manufacturing industry;
Information management and systems; Data sharing;
Abstract:
Big data analytics is used to get ahead of competition, but is a costly investment. Smaller companies are
afraid of taking such high risk investments, as the implementation of big data analytics does not
guarantee significant improvements in their business. This study examines whether there is a relation
between the data usage and the business process management of Dutch manufacturing companies in
order to enhance their decision making process. Also, research is done to find out to what extent the
size of the company matters in fully empowering data usage.
This is done firstly by expert interviews, of which the aim is to gain additional insights and
understandability of big data and how it influences business processes in the manufacturing industry.
Secondly, a survey is conducted, which aims to find a relation between big data usage and the
optimization of business process management, moderated by the size of the company.
The first outcome of this research is that there is a very strong relation between big data usage
and the optimization of business process management. This indicates that companies which have
successfully invested in big data related tools and have their data strategies in order, have optimized
their business processes more than companies which have not invested. The second outcome of this
research is that there is a relation between the size of the company and the capabilities of working with
data. This indicates that companies bigger of size, have more capabilities of investing in data related
tools and professionals.
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Preface
With much pride, I present you my masters thesis. This thesis is a result of my research, which is written
to represent the final phase of my international MSc in business administration at TIAS Business school.
Before starting this thesis, I knew I wanted to focus on a difficult, yet relevant subject. By doing
so, my thesis would not only be a way of graduation, but will also be useful and inspiring for other

people. The specialization chosen at TIAS Business school is business analytics, as I am strong analytical
person with the ambition of becoming a data scientist in the future. This research is therefore focused
on making companies more aware of the opportunities big data entails. This is done in order for the
Dutch market to become more data driven, and offer more potential for data scientists in the future.
Writing a masters thesis is meant to be an individual project, which measures if a student is ready to
graduate for his master degree. However, many people helped and motivated me throughout the
process of writing the thesis.
First I would like to give a special thanks to Mr. Hussain, my thesis coach. You have learned me a
lot about doing research, big data, and more. You have motivated me when I needed it and supported
me when I asked for it. Without you I could not have written this thesis.
Secondly, I would like to thank all the people involved from TIAS Business school which have
prepared me for writing the thesis and finishing my masters degree, with a special thanks to Mrs.
Hendrie, and Mr. Ashayeri.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family, friends and colleagues for all their support and
understanding during the writing of my bachelor thesis.
Rodney van Rijen

-September 2017-
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Table of contents
Keywords and abstract .................................................................................................... 3

Preface ............................................................................................................................ 4
Table of contents ............................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 1 - Introduction................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Research motivation ............................................................................................................. 8

1.1.1 Rationale .......................................................................................................................... 8
1.1.2 Relevance of the research ............................................................................................... 9
1.2 Research objectives ............................................................................................................ 10
1.2.1 To identify the major developments of big data .............................................................. 10
1.2.2 To explore big data related applications and implementations........................................ 10
1.2.3 To expose the need for data analytical solutions in manufacturing companies ............... 10
1.2.4 To test and either accept or reject the set hypotheses.................................................... 10
1.2.5 To make recommendations for Dutch manufacturing companies ................................... 10
1.3 Research questions ............................................................................................................ 11
1.3.1 Main research question .................................................................................................. 11
1.3.2 Sub research question ................................................................................................... 11
1.4 Research methodology ....................................................................................................... 12
1.5 Outline of the chapters ........................................................................................................ 13
1.6 Chapter conclusion ............................................................................................................. 13
Chapter 2 - Research context ....................................................................................... 14
2.1 Theoretical context using the filter effect ............................................................................. 14
2.1.1 Dutch market .................................................................................................................. 14
2.1.2 Manufacturing industry ................................................................................................... 15
2.1.3 Company size ................................................................................................................ 16
2.1.4 Business process management ..................................................................................... 17
2.1.5 Information management and systems ........................................................................... 18
Chapter 3 - Literature review ......................................................................................... 19
3.1 Information management and systems................................................................................ 19
3.1.1 Definition of information management ............................................................................ 19
3.1.2 Different types of information systems ............................................................................ 20
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3.2 Big data............................................................................................................................... 22
3.2.1 Definition of big data....................................................................................................... 22
3.2.2 Three Vs of big data ....................................................................................................... 22
3.2.3 Other characterizations of big data ................................................................................. 23
3.3 Big data opportunities and challenges ................................................................................. 24
3.3.1 Opportunities .................................................................................................................. 24
3.3.2 Challenges ..................................................................................................................... 26

3.4 Big data in the manufacturing industry ................................................................................ 27
3.4.1 The manufacturing industry ............................................................................................ 27
3.4.2 Data implementation of Dutch manufacturing companies ............................................... 27
3.4.3 New data trends in the manufacturing industry ............................................................... 28
3.5 Big data and business process management ...................................................................... 29
3.5.1 Business process management ..................................................................................... 29
3.5.2 Business process management framework (BPMF) and data implementation ............... 29
3.6 Big data maturity model....................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 4 - Methodology ............................................................................................... 34
4.1 Research philosophy and approach .................................................................................... 34
4.1.1 Research philosophy ...................................................................................................... 34
4.1.2 Research approach ........................................................................................................ 35
4.2 Research design ................................................................................................................. 36
4.2.1 Purpose of the research design...................................................................................... 36
4.2.2 Methodological choice .................................................................................................... 36
4.2.3 Strengths and limitations ................................................................................................ 37
4.3 Data collection methods ...................................................................................................... 38
4.3.1 Big data maturity model.................................................................................................. 38
4.3.2 Expert interview - Qualitative .......................................................................................... 39
4.3.3 Survey - Quantitative ...................................................................................................... 40
4.3.4 Overview of the survey questions ................................................................................... 41
4.4 Data analysis ...................................................................................................................... 42
4.4.1 Data analysis of expert interviews .................................................................................. 42
4.4.2 Data analysis of survey .................................................................................................. 42
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Chapter 5 - Results ....................................................................................................... 44
5.1 Results expert interviews .................................................................................................... 44
5.2 Results survey .................................................................................................................... 47
5.2.1 Survey results visualization ............................................................................................ 47
5.2.2 Frequency tables............................................................................................................ 53
5.2.3 Descriptive statistics tables ............................................................................................ 54
5.2.4 Correlation analysis ........................................................................................................ 58

5.2.5 Linear regression analysis .............................................................................................. 59
Chapter 6 - Discussion .................................................................................................. 62
6.1 Recapitulation of the research ............................................................................................. 62
6.2 Significant findings of the research ...................................................................................... 63
6.3 Other findings of the research ............................................................................................. 64
6.4 Study limitations and recommendations for further research ............................................... 66
Chapter 7 - Conclusion.................................................................................................. 68
Chapter 8 - Bibliography................................................................................................ 70
Chapter 9 - Appendices................................................................................................. 75
Appendix 1 - Thesis proposal ................................................................................................... 76
Appendix 2 - Digital advancement per sector ............................................................................ 84
Appendix 3 - Big data opportunities .......................................................................................... 85
Appendix 4 - Layout of the expert interviews ............................................................................ 86
Appendix 5 - Expert interview 1 ................................................................................................. 87
Appendix 6 - Expert interview 2 ................................................................................................ 89
Appendix 9 - Layout of the survey ............................................................................................. 95
Appendix 10 - Timeline table ..................................................................................................... 99
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Chapter 1 - Introduction
The introduction chapter informs the reader what the research is about. The main aim of this research is
to examine whether there is a relation between the data usage and the business process management of
Dutch manufacturing companies. This is done in order to consult manufacturing companies in their
decision making process on whether or not to invest in data related applications. This chapter firstly
provides the rationale for conducting the research, followed by its practical and theoretical relevance.

Secondly, the research objectives are mentioned, followed by an overview of the research questions.
Furthermore, the research methodology is discussed. And lastly, a chapter outline is provided.
1.1 Research motivation

The motivation for this research and the business related problems are discussed in the rationale.
Followed by the theoretical and practical relevance of the research.
1.1.1 Rationale
Big data is currently a Buzzword. Everyone has heard of the concept, but not a lot of people know what
it fully entails, nor how to successfully implement it. However, big data strengthens the Business
Intelligence, which is done by implementing data strategies to find valuable insights and obtain
forecasting opportunities (Salesforce, n.d.). Thus big data analytics is used to get ahead of competition
or to survive in certain industries in which data optimization is already of essential importance (Chen,
Chiang & Storey, 2012; Brown, Chui & Manyika, 2011).
Big data analytics is more common among larger companies (Davenport & Dyché, 2013;
Ferguson, 2013). The main reasons being costs of data analytical tools to be very high and professionals
to be scarce (Loshin, 2014), resulting in a high overall investment. Especially smaller companies do not
always have access to data analytical tools and professional know-how as they have limited investment
possibilities (Loshin, 2014), and would tend to invest in high rewarding and low-risk options (Reiss &
Cruikshank, 2000).
"research released by the Economist Intelligence Unit reported that 60% of companies feel that
data is generating revenue and 83% say it is making existing services and products more profitable"
(Marr, 2016). But to what extent is this applicable to every single company, because if using data
analytics is so advantageous and profitable, then why are so many companies still afraid of investing in
data analytical tools and professionals?
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In short, the motivation for this research is to find out whether there is a relation between data
usage within companies and their performance, in order to consult manufacturing companies in their
decision making process on whether or not to invest in data related applications in the future.
1.1.2 Relevance of the research

The research offers both scientific and practical relevance. Scientific, as "big data" is a relatively new
concept, which is hard to grasp for researchers. Currently there is a discussion on whether the use of big

data within companies is significantly advantageous or a big marketing trick from data analytical tool
providers. Not much research is conducted regarding the relation between big data usage and
performance. Thus this research will contribute to the ongoing discussion.
The research offers practical relevance as well. Many companies are questioning whether
implementation of data analytics is significantly going to improve their business. The outcome of this
research can be used to strengthen the decision making of these companies. If there is indeed a positive
relation between the data usage and the performance, the risk of investing will decrease. More
companies will invest in data related solutions, increasing their performance and overall profits.
Furthermore, it will stimulate the sales of analytical tools and create an increase in job opportunities for
professionals.
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1.2 Research objectives
The main objective is to produce a report in which the relation between data usage of a company and its
performance is demonstrated. This is done by either accepting or rejecting set hypotheses within this
research, resulting in an explanatory research purpose (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2012). Research
objectives form the heart of the report and steers the research. That is why the following five objectives
have been developed.

1.2.1 To identify the major developments of big data
Due to time constraints, it is impossible to research companies in all industries. The first objective is set
to identify major developments of big data to find the right demarcations, using a filter effect.
1.2.2 To explore big data related applications and implementations

Once the research is demarcated, the research context is illustrated in a clear and understandable way.
The second objective is set to explore literature regarding the applications and implementations of big
data within the research context.
1.2.3 To expose the need for data analytical solutions in manufacturing companies
To expose the need for data analytical solutions, a survey is conducted. This survey will examine the big
data maturity, the optimization of business process management, and demographic details of Dutch
manufacturing companies.
1.2.4 To test and either accept or reject the set hypotheses

The results of the survey are analyzed to find out whether there is a relation between the big data
maturity, the optimization of business process management, and the size of the company by accepting
or rejecting the hypotheses.
1.2.5 To make recommendations for Dutch manufacturing companies

To conclude the research and make appropriate recommendations for Dutch manufacturing companies
whether or not to invest in data analytical solutions.
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1.3 Research questions
The research aims to answer two research questions. The main research question focuses on the
relation between big data maturity and the optimization of business process management of Dutch
manufacturing companies. The sub research question focuses on whether the size of the company
matters in the successful implementation of big data within Dutch manufacturing companies.
1.3.1 Main research question

"To what extent does big data maturity influence the optimization of business process management of
Dutch companies in the manufacturing industry?"
1.3.2 Sub research question

"To what extent does the company size matter in fully harnessing the power of big data?"
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1.4 Research methodology
Within this introduction, a brief overview of the methodology is provided. Chapter 4 - Methodology
discusses the research methodology in more detail.
The research follows a pragmatic research philosophy. The research approach of this research is
deductive, as hypotheses have been set at the start of the research. These hypotheses will be tested
with both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Thus the methodological choice is a
mixed method research.

Two data collection methods are used within this research. The first data collection method are
semi-structured expert interviews. The first objective of the expert interviews aims to gain additional
insights of big data and how it influences the business process management and the manufacturing
industry. The second objective of the expert interviews aims to find out whether the experts think the
size of the company matters in the capabilities of implementing big data successfully.
The second data collection method is a survey, which is constructed and distributed with Google
Forms. The main objective of the survey is to find a relation between the big data maturity and the
optimization of business process management in Dutch manufacturing companies. Furthermore, the
survey is conducted to find out whether the size matters in successfully implementing data analytical
solutions. The big data maturity model of Theunissen (2015) will be implemented within this survey.
The expert interviews are recorded and translated into a transcript in the form of summaries.
Clustering of the answers will be done manually. This means that the most common answers are bound
together in the findings.
quantitative analysis will be used to analyze the survey data. The software used to analyze the
data is IBM SPSS 23.0. First of all, the data is visualized to get a better understanding of the respondents.
Furthermore, a correlation matrix is done to see which variables are correlated, and if so, how strong
they are correlated. Lastly, linear regression analysis is done in order to test the relations between big
data maturity and optimization of business process management, and between size of the company and
big data maturity.
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1.5 Outline of the chapters
The report starts with 'keywords and abstract', in which the research conducted is briefly explained.
Followed by the 'preface', in which a personal reflection and word of appreciation is provided. The
actual research starts with chapter one: ‘Introduction’, which informs the reader what the research is
about, and presents the overall research objective and questions. Chapter two: ‘Research context' puts
the research and its concepts in a theoretical context. Chapter three: ‘Literature review' discusses the
main theoretical principles, practices, and models relevant to the research. Chapter four: ‘Methodology’

informs the reader what overall research methodology is adopted, including data collection methods
and analysis of data. Chapter five: ‘Results' shows the analysis of the findings of both the expert
interviews and the survey. Chapter six: 'Discussion' states the most important findings and provides a
comparison of the findings against literature. Limitations and recommendations for further research are
included as well. Chapter seven: ‘Conclusion’ summarizes the thesis and reports the key findings and
includes the recommendations. Chapter eight: ‘Bibliography’ gives an overview of the literature used.
And lastly, chapter nine: ‘Appendices’ will provide an overview of the appendices used.
1.6 Chapter conclusion

Mainly larger companies claim that big data is advantageous and used to get ahead of competition.
However, not everyone agrees, as smaller companies find it hard to optimize their data usage. This has
led to the discussion whether big data implementation is indeed advantageous or not. The motivation
for this research is to find out which side of the discussion is right, in order to consult smaller companies
on whether or not to invest in data analytical solutions. This is done by testing the relation between big
data maturity and the optimization of business process management of Dutch manufacturing
companies, with size of the company as a moderator.
The research objectives are aimed to steer the research and the research questions are aimed to
answer the research problem. The main research question focuses on the relation between big data
maturity and the optimization of business process management of Dutch manufacturing companies. The
sub research question focuses on whether the size of the company matters in fully harnessing the power
of big data. Furthermore, the research methodology is discussed briefly, including the two main data
collection methods. Lastly, an outline of the chapters is provided.
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Chapter 2 - Research context
Due to time constraints it is impossible to research companies in all industries and in all aspects of big
data. Therefore, the research problem is to be exposed by demarcation, using a filter effect. The filter
effect will put the research in a theoretical context. Within this chapter, the theoretical research context
is discussed, including how the demarcations can assist in solving the research problem. The first
demarcation is the Dutch market, followed by the manufacturing industry. Thirdly, the company size and

its classifications are mentioned. Fourthly, business process management is discussed as demarcation,
followed by information management and systems.
2.1 Theoretical context using the filter effect

The filter effect will be applied to create the theoretical context of the research. The filter effect will
discuss the filters "Dutch market", "manufacturing industry", "company size", "business process
management", and "information management and systems".
2.1.1 Dutch market

The first filter is considered to be straightforward. Since expert interviews and the survey are conducted
in Dutch, the research focuses solely on the Dutch market.
The Netherlands has a population of 16.9 million inhbaitants of which 6.1% is unemployed
(Heritage foundation, 2017). According to the Dutch ministry of economic affairs, the Netherlands held
approximately 1.3 million companies in 2015, which employed 6.2 million people all together and had a
total turnover of 955 billion Euros (EIM, 2015).
The Netherlands as a demarcation can assist in solving the research problem, since the Dutch
market is heavily involved in the big data hype. In fact, the usage of Internet of Things and big data is still
growing and offers a lot of potential in the Dutch market (Paul, 2016; DutchCowboys, 2015).
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2.1.2 Manufacturing industry
Since the Dutch market as a whole is still too broad for research and different industries are too
dissimilar, the next filter is applied to focus on one certain industry. This industry should be working with
data in order to find companies for the survey.
Gandhi, Khanna, and Ramaswamy (2016) have published a report on Harvard Business Review
on how digitally advanced each industry is. This figure can be found in Appendix 2 - Digital advancement
per sector. Both advanced manufacturing and basic goods manufacturing score average in digitization on

almost all aspects, with a higher score on business processes. Data analytical tools and professionals are
already to be found within the manufacturing industry and yet there is still room to optimize.
According to The World Bank (n.d.), The Netherlands had value added manufacturing of
approximately 70 billion Euros in 2016, making it the 17th largest manufacturing country in the world.
And according to EIM (2015), there were 55.200 active manufacturing companies (4.2% of Dutch
companies), with a total turnover of 123.6 billion Euros (12,9% of Dutch total turnover), and employ
459.000 people (7,4% of Dutch employed people).
The manufacturing industry is already quite occupied with the implementation of data analytical
tools and professionals, in order to get ahead of competition and for constant quality improvement
(Auschitzky, Hammer & Rajagopaul, 2014). However, this still depends on the sector the company is in
(Johnson, n.d.). Most common uses of data analytical tools in the manufacturing industry include data
visualization, correlation analyses, significance testing, and artificial neutral networks. Opportunities
which are often aimed for in manufacturing companies are forecasting of demand and production,
product improvement, bottleneck reduction, and improvement of business process management
(Auschitzky et al., 2014).
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2.1.3 Company size
It will be tested whether the size of a company affects the capability of fully harnessing the power of
data. As the research problem states, larger companies are already able to work with data. But due to
investment constraints, smaller companies not always have this possibility. This results in smaller
companies not willing to take the risk of implementing data analytical tools. Small and Medium sized
Enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of the economy and should be made aware of and consulted on the
opportunities of implementing data analytical tools. The company size is not used as a filter per se, as all

company sizes will be included in this research.
The size of a company is classified (large, medium, small, or micro) according to the European
commission (DG Enterprise and Industry, 2015) and is determined by both the number of employees
and the annual turnover of the company.
Table 2.1: Classification of company sizes (source: DG Enterprise and Industry, 2015)
More than 99% of Dutch companies are SMEs (EIM, 2015). However, these smaller companies
are often service related. This is different in the manufacturing industry, as manufacturing companies
are often larger in size. The Dutch manufacturing industry counted 32.250 SMEs in 2015 (EIM, 2015).
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2.1.4 Business Process Management
Within manufacturing companies, many data related opportunities can be found. Such as market
explorations, customer and supplier analytics, etc. However, the most significant opportunities within
manufacturing companies lie within forecasting of demand and production, product quality
improvement, bottleneck reduction, and cost reduction (Auschitzky et al., 2014). These significant
opportunities are all part of the business process management, which is seen within this research as the
most important data-related aspect of manufacturing companies (Lavastorm analytics, 2013; Bloem et

al., 2013).
Business process management consists of three main levels according to ZBC (2010). Enterprise
process management (management processes), Business process improvement (primary processes), and
Continuous improvement (secondary processes).
To optimize business process management, data analytical implementation is needed. For
management processes finding hidden patterns and forecasting of demand and production is of high
importance. This is used to increase the planning in order to better control and steer the company.
Automation of business processes and sensors are the biggest opportunities in the primary processes, in
order to gain better insights into the business processes. For secondary processes, quality and safety
improvements are often wanted. However, for all these business process improvements to work, a
company will need good information management with the accompanying information systems in place.
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2.1.5 Information Management and systems
Improvements in business processes are often decisions made on the basis of gathered data. In order to
find these hidden insights and valuable information, good information management is needed with its
accompanying systems.
information management is the process of collecting, storing, managing and maintaining
information in both physical and digital forms, and being able to get the information at the right person
in a timely matter (Techopedia, n.d.). Information management is supported by its information systems.

An information system is a general term for software designed to facilitate the storage, organization,
and retrieval of information at different levels of the company (Techopedia, n.d.). However, it is
understandable that smaller companies in the manufacturing industry will not have all these
information systems optimized.
In order to find hidden insights or enable decision to be made, a lot of data is needed within a
company. Especially in the manufacturing industry, where a lot of machine data is gathered. This data is
often of huge proportions, in which different sources of internal and sometimes external data are used.

Within this chapter the research is exposed by demarcation using a filter effect, which puts the research
in a theoretical context. The first filter focuses on companies in the Dutch market, as the expert
interviews and the survey are conducted with Dutch experts and companies. The second filter focuses
on the manufacturing industry, as this industry offers a lot of potential in data-related implementation.
As the research aims to find whether smaller companies can also benefit from big data related
implementation, the size of the company is included in the research context, but not per se as filter. The
third filter focuses on business process management, as this is the most significant data-related aspect
in this research, and is found in all manufacturing companies. The last filter is focused on information
management and systems, as these are needed to fully implement big data in order to improve the
business process management.
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Chapter 3 - Literature review
The literature review chapter is aimed to inform the reader what previous research is conducted on the
topic and how it has guided this research. The first topic to be discussed is information management and
systems, as this is the basis for Business Intelligence and big data. Secondly, big data itself and its
opportunities and challenges are discussed to better understand the main concept. Thirdly, data usage
and trends in the manufacturing industry are discussed, as this is the first demarcation. Fourthly,

business process management and how this is influenced by big data is discussed, as this is the second
demarcation. Lastly, the big data maturity model of Theunissen (2015) is explained, as this model is used
within the survey to measure the big data usage of companies
3.1 Information management and systems

Information management is the key player between the collection of (big) data and the management
and control of the information and the distribution towards the right audience, often being decision
makers. Within this chapter, information management is defined. Furthermore, the different types of
information systems commonly used by companies will be discussed.
3.1.1 Definition of information management

A simple definition of information management by Robertson (2005) is "getting the right information to
the right person at the right place and at the right time". When seen from a more professional
perspective, "information management is the process of collecting, storing, managing and maintaining
information in both physical and digital forms, and being able to get the information at the right person
(decision makers) in a timely matter. Information management is typically achieved through purpose-
built information systems and by supporting business processes and guidelines" (Techopedia, n.d.).
So, information management is achieved through information systems, which are present at
almost any company. "An information system is a general term for software designed to facilitate the
storage, organization, and retrieval of information at different levels of the company" (Techopedia,
n.d.). The type of information system a company chooses depends on how much value the system can
bring to the company and are often purpose-built (Hamlett, n.d.). A typical organization has six
information systems with each supporting a specific organization level.
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3.1.2 Different types of information systems
Six common types of information systems are often found in different levels of the organization.
Transaction Processing System (TPS)

Every firm needs to process transactions in order to perform their daily business operations. The TPS
collects and stores information about transactions. In a manufacturing unit, transactions include order
entry, receipt of goods, shipping, etc (ManagementStudyHQ, n.d.). The TPS is mainly used at the

operational level.
Office Automation Systems (OAS)

An office automation system is a collection of communication technologies, computers and persons to
perform office-related tasks. It executes office transactions and supports office-related activities at all
organizational levels. thus, the system helps individuals in the processing of personal and organizational
data, such as report writing, meeting scheduling, etc. (ManagementStudyHQ, n.d.).
Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)

A knowledge work system is a specialized system built to promote the creation of knowledge and to
make sure that knowledge and technical skills are properly integrated into business by converting design
specifications into graphical designs (ManagementStudyHQ, n.d.). The KWS helps technical staff in
creating and organizing new knowledge by providing them with graphics, analytics, communications,
and document management tools.
Management Information systems (MIS)

Management information systems are especially developed to support planning, controlling, and
decision-making functions of middle management. A MIS extracts transaction data from underlying
TPSs, compiles them, and produces information products in the form of reports, displays or responses to
analyze and control daily topics (ManagementStudyHQ, n.d.).
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Decision Support Systems (DSS)
A decision support system is an interactive computer-based information system that serves at the higher
management level of an organization and strategic management staff. It can be compared to the MIS in
usage, However, Decision support systems have more analytical power. The system uses models,
environmental information, or analysis tools to make simulations, forecasting and predictions. To
support these decisions, the information generated by OASs and TPSs is used (ManagementStudyHQ,
n.d.).

Executive Support Systems (ESS)
An executive support system is an extension of the MIS. The ESS is a computer based information
system that helps in decision making at the top-level of an organization. The decisions taken with the
ESS are often non-routine decisions that affect the entire organization and require experienced
judgment (ManagementStudyHQ, n.d.). The ESS uses advanced graphics software to display the critical
information in the form of charts or graphs that help senior executives to solve a wide range of
problems and helps to monitor performance, track activities of competitors, identify opportunities, and
forecast trends (ManagementStudyHQ, n.d.).
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3.2 Big data
The research revolves around big data, which is a hard to grasp concept for many readers. The concept
of big data is explained within this chapter, including its characteristics.
3.2.1 Definition of big data

Big data is given a lot of different definitions by experts, which leads to misunderstandings and
vagueness. Two of the many definitions will be discussed in order to show what the researcher's

thoughts of big data are.
The first definition focuses mainly on how data is gathered, by an acknowledged author of big
data marketing, Lisa Arthur (2013): “Big data is a collection of data from traditional and digital sources
inside and outside your company that represents a source of ongoing discovery and analysis”.
The second definition focuses more on business process management of big data, which makes
it highly applicable for the research. This definition comes from Gartner (2014), which is one of the first
parties to be involved with big data: “Big Data is high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information
assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight on
decision making”.
3.2.2 Three Vs of big data

Big data is often defined by Volume, Variety, and Velocity, which are defined by Rossum (2011). “Volume
defines the size of data that is stored and managed by an organization. It evaluates the massive amount
of data in data stores and concerns related to its scalability, accessibility and manageability”. “velocity
defines the speed of increase in data volume and its relative accessibility. Velocity helps organizations
understand the relative growth of their data and how quickly that data reaches sourcing users,
applications and systems”. “Variety defines the different data types, categories and associated
management of a data repository. Variety provides insight into the uniqueness of different classes of
data and how they are compared with other types of data”.
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3.2.3 Other characterizations of big data
Over recent years however, big data has become increasingly popular and has since evolved. Besides the
Volume, Velocity and Variety, experts and companies have adopted new characterizations of big data.
One of these characterizations is “Veracity” (IBM, 2015), which stands for the uncertainty or
reliability of the collected data. Veracity is believed to be an important characterization for decision
making, as the reliability of data is very important.
Two other characterizations are “Variability” and “value” (Gandomi & Haider, 2015). Variability

shows the variation in data flow rates, which is often caused by inconsistent data velocity. Value
indicates the relation between useful data and volume. When a lot of useful information has been found
in its volume, men speaks of high value.
“Accessibility” (Morabito, 2015) indicates accessibility for a company to increase and extend its
own data and information assets with the use of several channels. The last characterization is “cost”
(Lopez, 2012), which is often overlooked. Cost often focuses on the cost-efficiency of data storage.
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3.3 Big data opportunities and challenges
Many companies are not aware of the opportunities and challenges of data analytical implementations,
which is often why they are afraid to take the risk of actually implementing it. Both the opportunities
and challenges of data analytical implementations are discussed.
3.3.1 Opportunities
It is said that the implementation of data within companies can offer a large variety of opportunities. It

is simply too much to elaborate upon all of the opportunities, which is why the big data opportunities
table of Theunissen (2015) is used, which can be found in appendix 3 - Big data opportunities.
Theunissen (2015) divided the opportunities in seven different segments, of which the most significant
opportunities are discussed.
Strategy
Data analytics can discover hidden insights, such as trends or patterns, which would not have been
found using regular analytics (Lavastorm analytics, 2013). This enriched information can be used to
improve decision making processes (Lavastorm analytics, 2013), but it could also be used to forecast
sales, demand, and planning (Bloem et al., 2013; Rossum, 2011). Data analytics can even be used to
develop or improve whole business models based on data (Bloem et al., 2013; KPMG, 2014).
Product
Social analytics will result into more insights into customer's perception of a product or service (bloem
et al., 2013). Also, patterns can be found in sales analytics in order to find out whether a product or
service is performing well. This data can be used to develop or improve a product or service (Bloem et
al., 2013; Chen & Zhang, 2014).
Process
Overall business processes can be improved and automated (Lavastorm analytics, 2013; KPMG, 2014), in
order to increase the productivity of business processes (Chen & Zhang, 2014). The opportunities of
business processes will be elaborated upon in chapter 3.5 - big data and business process management.
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Customer
Data analytics and social analytics offer a lot of insights into customer needs and behavior (Rossum,
2011; KPMG, 2014). A better insight into the needs and interests of the customer, leads to better
customer services and segmentation (KPMG, 2014; Chen & Zhang, 2014).
Marketing
Since data analytics and social analytics result into better customer insights, marketing strategies can be

improved as well. For instance by personalized offers/advertisements (Bloem et al., 2013), Hyper
targeting (Bloem et al., 2013), and improvement of company brand awareness (Rossum, 2011).
Market
Data analytics can be used to gain more insight into the current and new competitors (Rossum, 2011).
Lately, data analytics is commonly used to identify new markets to operate in (Rossum, 2011).
Miscellaneous
Other important opportunities of data analytics are fraud detection (Bloem et al., 2013; Rossum, 2011),
risk management (Bloem et al., 2013), and selling generated data (Rossum, 2011).
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3.3.2 Challenges
Now that the upsides of implementing data analytics have been discussed, the downsides are
mentioned as well.
High costs
The costs of implementing data analytical tools are high (Lavastorm analytics, 2013), which makes it a
risky and uncertain investment for smaller companies as they do not always have the investment budget

(KPMG, 2014). The number of professionals are also quite scarce, leading to high salary costs (Loshin,
2014; Lavastorm analytics, 2014).
Data quality, reliability, availability

Bulger, Taylor, & Schroeder (2014) discussed the challenges of data in one of their articles, focusing on
the quality, reliability and the availability of data. While datasets are increasingly available across
sectors, many are developed for a task within a particular organization and not seamlessly lend
themselves to analysis by third parties. Resulting in a firm decrease of the quality of the data. As a result
of data quality being lower, the reliability of data analysis is also decreasing. While there is a massive
amount of data in this world, it is sometimes hard for particular companies to find available data. At the
edges of data are elements that have not been measured yet, cannot be measured as such technologies
do not exist yet, have outdated measures (strategy, real-time data), or gaps in measurements.
Data volume and data velocity

Data sets grow in size exponentially due to the increase of measuring devices. So to keep up with the
increase of data, the increase of data storage should be exponential as well. This exponential data
increase is also known as Moore’s law (Moore, n.d.). However, the processor technology is lagging
behind resulting in a shift in Moore's law. Still in many sectors valuable data is often deleted as the
space to store this data is not big enough (Chen & Zhang, 2014).
Miscellaneous
Other challenges found in literature are privacy and ethical questions of data, including the data security
(Manyika et al., 2011). There is also a lot of miscommunication and cultural differences between IT and
Management (Chen & Zhang, 2014). And lastly, there is no trust between companies to share data and
work together, as they are scared that their data will be used for the wrong intentions (Chen & Zhang,
2014).
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3.4 Big data in the manufacturing industry
The manufacturing industry will be elaborated upon and relevant figures will be shown. Secondly, the
big data implementation of average manufacturing companies will be discussed. Lastly, the newest data
trends in manufacturing will be mentioned.
3.4.1 The manufacturing industry

The manufacturing industry is defined by Business dictionary (n.d.) as: "Agglomeration of industries

engaged in chemical, mechanical or physical transformation of materials, substances, or components
into consumer or industrial goods". According to The World Bank (n.d.), The Netherlands had value
added manufacturing of approximately 82 billion US dollars in 2016, making it the 17th largest
manufacturing country in the world. And according to EIM (2015), there were 55.200 active
manufacturing companies, employing 459.000 people in the Netherlands in 2014.
3.4.2 Data implementation of Dutch manufacturing companies

All sectors have laggards (companies not working with data at all) and precursors (using state-of-the-art
data analytical solutions), which is also the case in the Dutch manufacturing industry. This paragraph,
however, focuses on the average company within the Dutch market, of which many are already using
different forms of data analytical solutions. Data is mainly gathered through machine data and KPIs.
According to Auschitzky et al. (2014), manufacturing companies mainly use four analytical
procedures. First, data visualization in order to make data more understandable and identify initial
patterns. Secondly, correlation analyses in order to identify core determinants of process performance
and form initial hypotheses. thirdly, significance testing in order to test the formed hypotheses. Lastly,
artificial neutral networks in order to model the complex processes and to quantify the impact and of
the identified parameters. These procedures enable a lot of opportunities for manufacturing companies.
The improvement of products, focusing on quality, yield, and safety issues of the product itself
becomes possible. Furthermore, it enables companies to improve forecasting demand and production
and to better understand plant performance (Columbus, 2014). Better forecasting and better knowledge
of the performance will lead to improved business process management. But it will also grant a better
visibility into supplier quality levels, which will lead to a greater accuracy in predicting supplier
performance over time, thus resulting in better partnerships (Columbus, 2014). When a company better
understands its data and has knowledge of the procedures and its bottlenecks, lean and agile
manufacturing can be introduced (Microsoft Dynamics AX, n.d.). Besides, acceleration of integration of
IT, manufacturing and operational systems is possible (Columbus 2014).
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3.4.3 New data trends in the manufacturing industry
Experts are currently talking of a fourth industrial revolution, industry 4.0, which is featured by Internet
of Things, big data analytics, blockchain, and robotics (CGI, n.d.). "Within this digital transformation, the
network of manufacturing companies will become more dynamic. Increased transparency through
tracking and tracing, improved efficiency of business processes and warehouse management
optimization are the building blocks of this revolution, leading to shorter time-to-market, higher quality,
improved product safety, and lower cost of raw materials" (CGI, n.d.).

"Internet of Things is the main building block for manufacturing companies, as it gathers a lot of
valuable and reliable data using all sorts of sensors" (Microsoft Dynamics AX, n.d.). However, since
Internet of Things provides companies with so much data, PwC advices companies to start mining their
data (Mueller, Bono, Pillsbury & Misthal, 2017). "Manufacturers will have to figure out how to manage
the data coming from an avalanche of sensors, integrated equipment and platforms, and faster
information processing systems" (Mueller et al., 2017). If done correctly, the company will have better
insight and opportunities to work more efficient and effective (CGI, n.d.).
First of all, predictive analytics will become possible, which enables companies to better predict
demand, production, but also maintenance. Instead of using a static planning based on specifications, a
more dynamic planning can be created using all sorts of relevant factors gathered from IoT sensors,
maintenance and repair data when applying predictive maintenance. Also, with the use of predictive
modeling, mobility analytics becomes available, which optimizes transport flows, resulting in improved
accessibility and warehouse management. Furthermore, network analytics can be used to determine
defects and bottlenecks within the manufacturing procedure, being able to solve them on time. The last
trend, which revolutionizes manufacturing, is 3D-printing. "3D printing is a new package of tools and
techniques which will change the way we manufacture products" (Microsoft Dynamics AX, n.d.).
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3.5 Big data and business process management
Firstly, business process management will be explained. Secondly, the business process management
framework (BPMF) is introduced, in which the data implementations of all aspects are discussed.
3.5.1 Business process management

Business process management is a very broad concept and differently defined by many experts. Within
this research the philosophy of Palmer (2014) is followed, which defines business process management

as " a discipline involving any combination of modeling, automation, execution, control, measurement
and optimization of business activity flows, in support of enterprise goals, spanning systems, employees,
customers and partners within and beyond enterprise boundaries" (Palmer, 2014). To further explain the
concept of business process management, the business process management framework is used.
3.5.2 Business process management framework (BPMF) and data implementation

The Business process management framework (BPMF) is a tool to get a better understanding of all
aspects involved in business process management. As seen in figure 3.1, The BPMF consists of three
main levels of process management (middle three layers), Enterprise Process Management, Business
Process Improvement, and Continuous Improvement. Two supporting aspects (left and right layer) are
Performance management and Compliance & Risk Management (ZBC, 2010). Within BPM, big data
becomes increasingly important and used. More sensors are installed and process simulations are
executed in order to improve the business process management (Earls, 2013). Also the workflow of
business processes are heavily improved by the implementation of big data (CGI, 2013). Thus, the more
data is used within a company, the more improved the business process management is believed to be.
Within this chapter, all aspects of the BPMF will be elaborated upon and data analytical
implementations are discussed.
Figure 3.1: Business process management framework (Source: ZBC, 2010). (Note: This model is in Dutch)
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Enterprise Process Management
"Enterprise process management (management processes) is mainly focused on strategy
implementation and alignment, drafting and maintaining of process planning, and effective steering of
the organization (ZBC, 2010)", and is mainly done by top management.
Data analytics in enterprise process management is mainly based on forecasting of demand and
production in order to improve the planning and control. However, data analytics can also be used to
discover new insights and patterns.

Business Process Improvement
Business process improvement (primary processes) is focused on the improvement of productivity of
the processes. Main objectives of business process improvements are quality improvement, optimizing
occupancy rates, decrease of lead times, and cost reduction. According to ZBC (2010), four components
are critical in business process improvement. "Firstly, the processes, the actions or operations that are
being carried out to realize the desired products within the set strategy. Secondly, the people, the
knowledge, skills, expertise, and experience to run the processes. Thirdly, the tools, other matters
necessary for the execution of processes, such as machines, buildings, and IT. Lastly, the organization,
the cooperation and integration of all components" (ZBC, 2010). Methods and techniques often used to
improve the business processes are lean manufacturing (Shah & Ward, 2003) and Six Sigma (Pyzdek &
Keller, 2014).
It is very important for manufacturing companies to have the right people and tools in order to
implement data analytics. The biggest opportunity in business process improvement is to automate
business processes. Next to that, adding sensors to tools and machinery is very helpful. Better insights
into tools and machinery enables to decrease bottlenecks, improve maintenance, and improve
forecasting.
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Continuous Improvement
The manufacturing industry is changing every day, and so is the world of data analytics and automation.
Standing still will result in lagging behind competition. Much of this improvement space is not
immediately visible for management, but on the work floor and by data analytics. A culture of
continuous improvement stimulates employee involvement and data analytical tools to find small flaws
to be optimized. Controlling, evaluation, and steering of management are important within continuous
improvement.

Data analytics is mainly used to discover hidden flaws in tools and machinery in order to
optimize them. Furthermore, data analytics can be used for continuous product improvement.
Continuous product improvement focuses on the quality and the safety of the product and the process.
Performance Management
Performance management is the first supporting aspect and functions as a bridge between
management, continuous improvement and execution. The focus lies on translating the strategy into
performance indicators. These performance indicators are then measured, evaluated, and analyzed.
Data analytics is often implemented with performance management by using an integrated
dashboard. The KPIs set by management are translated into the dashboard, which are then gathered
and evaluated by management in order to steer the organization.
Compliance & Risk Management

Compliance and risk management is the second supporting aspect and functions as well as a bridge
between management, continuous improvement and execution. The focus lies on the changes in laws
and regulations, and internal code of conduct. The steering of compliance and risk management should
consist of transparent and solid procedures set by management, which ensure that both employees and
external parties can easily see what the company stands for.
Data analytics can be implemented in order to always be alerted when new laws and regulations
are implemented. Data analysis can also be used for risk management, in order to find the right balance
between the business itself and the laws, regulations, and code of conduct.
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3.6 Big data maturity model
The big data maturity model (Theunissen, 2015) focuses on the maturity stages of big data usage within
companies. The company is evaluated by a short questionnaire, in which the maturity stage of each of
the dimensions is determined. This model is mainly used for consultancy, as determination of all
maturity stages shows which dimensions lag behind. The aim for the company is to be around the same
maturity stage in all dimensions in order for the data strategies and implementations to be aligned.

Figure 3.2 : Big Data maturity model (Source: Theunissen, 2015)
The big data maturity model consists of eight dimensions and five maturity phases of which the purpose
is explained. The eight dimensions are:
1. Organization: Degree in which structural approach & control is aligned between Business and IT;
2. Strategy: Degree in which the company has formulated data initiatives within their strategy and
the degree of actively working on this strategy;
3. Culture: Culture within the company. Are the employees used to work with technology and are
they able to cope with strategies regarding big data initiatives;
4. People: The degree in which the company employed people with the right skills;
5. Governance: In what way has a policy been drawn towards data quality, security and privacy;
6. Technology: Does the company have all the right equipment and technology within the company;
7. Data: What types of data are used within the company and where does this data come from;
8. Innovation: To what degree is the company open for innovation and what is the related strategy.
The five maturity phases used within this model are:
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Phase 1. Initial: This phase is characterized as chaotic and Ad hoc. The organization and the BI activities
have no structure at all. Each development r is ad hoc based and the tooling and support are missing;
Phase 2. Repeatable: This phase is characterized by professionalization of big data matters. Within the
organization there are several data initiatives, however a holistic approach and guidance is lacking.
Within this phase, data developments are project based;
Phase 3. Defined: This phase is characterized by standardization. data initiatives are centrally
coordinated and developments are based on standard project approach and development methodology;

Phase 4. Managed: This phase is characterized by optimization. Business and IT are interweaving and
data initiatives and developments are approached from a business perspective.
Phase 5. Optimized: This phase is characterized by fine tuning of the data organization. Business and IT
are both responsible for the organization of data and data is also discussed on management level.

Within this chapter the literature regarding the research has been reviewed. The literature reviewed is
aimed to inform the reader what previous research has been conducted on the topic and how it has
guided the research.
Firstly, Information management and information systems has been discussed, focusing on its
definition, how it is applied within organizations and the different types of information systems found in
the average company. Secondly, the concept of big data has been explained, focusing on two often used
definitions and explanation of the characteristics of big data. Furthermore, the most common and
interesting opportunities and challenges of big data have been mentioned according to the big data
opportunity table of Theunissen (2015). Fourthly, the manufacturing industry within the Netherlands
has been discussed, including how data is implemented in the average manufacturing company and new
data related trend. The same has been done for business process management. Using the Business
process management framework of ZBC (2010), the concept has been explained and the data related
trends has been shown. Lastly, the big data maturity model of Theunissen (2015) is discussed.
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Chapter 4 - Methodology
The methodology allows the researcher to provide a consistent and profound research plan. The
methodology informs the reader what overall research tools are adopted (and why) to gain and analyze
the results. Firstly, the philosophy and the approach of the research will be shown. Secondly, the design
of the research is discussed, focusing on its purpose, methodological choice, and limitations. Thirdly, the
data collection methods are discussed, which includes the big data maturity model of Theunissen (2015),

the expert interviews, and the survey. Lastly, data analyses procedures will be mentioned.
4.1 Research philosophy and approach

The research philosophy describes the nature of the knowledge acquired within this research. The
research approach explains if the research is inductive, abductive, or deductive.
4.1.1 Research philosophy

It is vital for research to understand what the nature of the knowledge is, as this is the footing for new
knowledge to be found. Datt & Datt (2016) acknowledges four research philosophies: Positivism,
interpretivism, realism, and pragmatism.
Positivism tries to uncover the one truth and entails working with an observable social reality to
produce law-like generalizations (Saunders et al., 2012). A positivistic methodology is often highly
structured and includes a large sample, and the methodology involves hypotheses testing and statistical
tools in order to find causal relations.
Interpretivism emphasizes that humans are different from physical phenomena because they
create meanings. These meanings are therefore researched (Saunders et al., 2012). Thus interpretivism
interprets the social roles of other individuals in accordance with our own set of perspectives (Datt &
Datt, 2016). A qualitative in-depth approach is applied in small samples in order to collaboratively
construct a meaningful reality.
Realism refers to scientific inquiry emphasizing on the reality projected by our sense as truth, as
it believes that objects have an independent existence from human mind (Datt & Datt, 2016). Realism is
divided into direct realism and critical realism. Direct realists believe that what is perceived through our
senses is real, and thus often use action research and participant observation. Critical realists, however,
argue that what we feel through our senses are only a picture of the real object and not the actual one
itself, and often uses qualitative methods such as case studies and convergent interviews (Datt & Datt,
2016).
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Pragmatism asserts that concepts are only relevant where they support action (Saunder et al.,
2012). Pragmatism is utilizing both positivist and interpretivist philosophy and views both of them as
continuum rather than contradictions (Datt & Datt, 2016). Pragmatists focus on studying the issues of
interest and value and use different ways to bring out positive consequences. This is done by
implementing a mixed methodological approach of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
The research philosophy of this research is pragmatism. The positivist side focuses on an
independent and objective stance and tries to find a causal relation based on credible data and facts,

which is the case within the analysis of the survey data. The interpretivist side focuses on socially
constructed, subjective information, which will be gathered through the expert interviews.
4.1.2 Research approach

The research approach outlines what kind of research design is used. Three approaches are existent
according to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2012): deductive, inductive and abductive.
A deductive research approach is in place when hypotheses are formulated that need to be
confirmed or rejected during the research process (Bryman & Bell, 2015). Thus a movement will take
place from theory to hypotheses, which will be tested and confirmed or rejected.
An inductive research approach is in place when there is no formulation of hypotheses (Bryman
& Bell, 2015). An inductive research starts with research questions, aims, and objectives that need to be
achieved during the research process. Thus a movement will take place from observations or tests, in
which patterns and trends are to be found in order to create a new theory.
An abductive research approach is in place when the research is devoted to explanation of
incomplete observations, unforeseen trends, or puzzling phenomena by using qualitative and
quantitative methods of data collection and analysis to unravel the phenomena.
Within this research, hypotheses have been set at the beginning, which have been derived from
literature. These hypotheses will be tested with both qualitative and quantitative data collection
methods and analysis in order to either confirm or reject theses hypotheses. Thus a deductive research
approach is used within this research.
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4.2 Research design
The research design discusses the purpose of the research and the methodological choice. Furthermore,
the strengths and limitations of this research are mentioned.
4.2.1 Purpose of the research design

According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2012) each research can be designed to fulfill either and
exploratory, descriptive, or an explanatory design.

Exploratory research is defined as initial research into a theoretical idea, which aims to discover
what is happening and gain insights about a topic of interest. Exploratory research starts with a broad
focus which becomes narrower as the research commences (Saunders et al., 2012).
Descriptive research is defined as attempts to explore and explain while providing additional
information on a topic, and thus creating a more detailed and accurate profile of events, persons, or
situations (Saunders et al., 2012).
Explanatory research is defined as an attempt to connect ideas to understand cause and effect,
thus the researcher wants to explain the relation between certain variables (Saunders et al., 2012),
which is often conducted by confirming or rejecting hypotheses.
The purpose of this research design is explanatory. The concept of big data is explored and
explained, however, this is done on existing literature, thus the research is not descriptive. The research
design is explanatory, as research is conducted in order to find a relation between the variables big data
maturity, business process management, and size of the company by setting hypotheses.
4.2.2 Methodological choice

The methodological choice of a research could be either mono method or multiple method. In which the
mono method focuses on one research method, being qualitative or quantitative. The multiple method
is divided again in multi-method and mixed method. In which the multi-method focuses on more than
one research method, but is either fully qualitative or quantitative. A mixed method research focuses on
more than one research method, which consists of both qualitative and quantitative methods (Saunders
et al., 2012).
This research implements both a qualitative research method (expert interviews) and a
quantitative research method (survey), making this research a mixed method research.
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4.2.3 Strengths and limitations
The quality of research lies within its strengths, validity, reliability, and limitations. Firstly, the strengths
of this research are discussed. Followed by a discussion on the limitations and why they are present.
The first significant strength of this research is the demarcation. big data is a pretty broad and
hard to grasp concept. Due to the full demarcation, the focus of the research and its concepts have
become more understandable. The second significant strength is the mixed method methodology. On
the one hand, detailed information and expertise, is gathered through the expert interviews. On the

other hand, quantified and easy to analyze data is gathered through the survey, which is used to confirm
or reject the hypotheses.
The first limitation of this research is based on the demarcation. The research is demarcated to
focus on one industry (manufacturing) and on one aspect of big data (business process management),
which makes the research only appealing and applicable to Dutch manufacturing companies. The second
limitation of this research is the fact that "big data" is still a hard to grasp topic for a lot of companies. So
when the survey is sent out, companies might have different ideas of how digitally advanced their
systems are and how well their big data implementations are successfully implemented, which results in
less reliable research results. The third limitation is a result of time constraints. Due to lack of research
time, only several expert interviews can be held, leading to a decrease in the validity and reliability of
the research. The last limitation is based on the fact that technology advances incredibly fast in current
days. The further technology advances, the less reliable this research becomes, as current technologies
will become more available for reasonable prices, and more futuristic forms of data analysis will become
available. meaning this research will be reliable for a couple of years only.
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4.3 Data collection methods
Both the purpose of the big data maturity model and the two data collection methods are discussed.
The purpose, the set-up and the sample strategy will be mentioned for both the expert interviews and
the survey as well.
4.3.1 Big data maturity model

The big data maturity model is a model created by Theunissen (2015), which focuses on the maturity

stages of big data within companies. The difference between this model and other data maturity models
is that this model has been created to not only focus on corporate companies, but also on SMEs. The
maturity model created by Theunissen (2015) is a consolidation of several well-known maturity models,
“TDWI Big Data maturity model” (Halper & Krishnan, 2014), “IDC Big Data maturity model” (IDC, n.d.)
and “RIO-Model” (Leenders, Peute & Van Winden, 2009).
The model contains eight data-related dimensions, organization, strategy, culture, people,
governance, technology, data, and innovation. Furthermore, the model contains five maturity levels,
initial, repeatable, defined, managed, optimized. In chapter 3.6 - Big data maturity model, an
explanation of all dimensions and maturity levels is provided.
The big data maturity model of Theunissen (2015) is, as mentioned, a scarce data-related model
which is applicable to both SMEs and corporate companies. Next to that, Theunissen (2015) has
provided a questionnaire to be filled in by companies, which align with the dimensions of the model.
This questionnaire is implemented in the survey, which will provide a clear result of the big data
maturity of the companies researched.
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4.3.2 Expert interview - Qualitative
Two main objectives are set for conducting the expert interviews. The first objective aims to gain
additional insights of big data and how it influences the business process management and the
manufacturing industry. The second objective aims to find out whether the experts think the size of the
company plays a role in the capabilities of implementing big data successfully.
The expert interviews to be held are semi-structured. This will give both the interviewer and the
interviewee more freedom in asking and answering the questions. Thus being able to steer the

conversation into interesting topics. The layout of this semi-structured interview can be found in
Appendix 4– Layout of the expert interview.
The interview starts with personal questions in order to find out who the expert is and what
his/her affinity with big data is. Secondly, basic questions will be asked regarding big data, thus
opportunities, threats and trends, in order to gain additional insights. Next to that, big data in both the
manufacturing industry and in business process management is discussed, in order to find out whether
the experts think there is a relation between big data maturity and business process management in the
manufacturing industry. Lastly, some questions regarding big data implementation in smaller companies
will be discussed, in order to find out if the size of the company plays a role in the data implementation.
The interviews will be recorded with a Smartphone, so that subjectivity will be kept at minimum.
A transcript will be made in the form of summaries of the interviews. The experts chosen are data-
related experts in the Dutch market. Two are from TNO, which is a research centre with a lot of
expertise in big data. One is from chamber of commerce, innovation and data department, with
expertise on big data within SMEs. One is from break-through project "Big Data", which was the first
data-related awareness project in the Dutch market.
Table 4.1: Experts in big data for expert interviews
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4.3.3 Survey - Quantitative
The main objective of the survey is to find a relation between the big data maturity and the optimization
of business process management in Dutch manufacturing companies. Next to that, the survey is
conducted to find out whether the size of the company plays part in the success of data implementation
within Dutch manufacturing companies. The survey is created and distributed with the use of Google
Forms.
The survey is divided into four parts. The first part of the survey focuses on general questions

regarding big data to find out if companies see big data as an opportunity, and what challenges are
experienced. The second part focuses on the optimization of "business process management" within
their company. The business process management framework is translated into questions in order to
find out how well the company is performing business process wise. The third part focuses on the big
data maturity model of Theunissen (2015). The questionnaire within the research of Theunissen will be
implemented in this part in order to find the big data maturity score of the companies. The last part,
focuses on demographic details to find out if size, age, and revenue have an influence on the ability to
implement data successfully. The layout of the survey can be found in appendix 9 - Layout of the survey.
An overview of the survey questions is and where they originate from is provided in 4.3.4 - Overview of
the survey questions.
The research is demarcated to manufacturing companies. It would be more valid for this
research, however, if manufacturing companies from different sizes and different sectors would be
addressed. This is done by implementing convenience sampling, which is a non-probability method
(Verhoeven, 2010). This sample strategy is chosen as a database is not available and time-constraints are
present. The aim is to have the survey filled in by general managers of the companies, as they have the
most knowledge on both the processes and data usage within their company. However, top
management and IT would be sufficient as well.
The hypotheses set within this research will be confirmed or rejected by the survey. The first
hypothesis focuses on the relation between big data maturity within a company and the optimization of
business process management, and is as follows: "H1: The higher the big data maturity of a company,
the higher the optimization of business process management". The second hypothesis focuses on
whether the size of the company has an influence on the capabilities of harnessing the power of big
data, and is as follows: "H2: The larger the size of the company, the higher the capabilities of fully
harnessing the power of big data".
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4.3.4 Overview of the survey questions

Table 4.2: Origin of the survey questions
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4.4 Data analysis
Data of both the expert interviews and the survey are analyzed in order to draw valid conclusions. First,
the data analysis of the expert interviews is discussed. Followed by the data analysis of the surveys.
4.4.1 Data analysis of expert interviews

The expert interviews are recorded and translated into a transcript in the form of summaries. Due to
time and financial constraints, the transcripts will not be coded and analyzed using software. However,

since only four expert interviews are conducted, coding will be done manually.
Clustering of the answers will be done manually by the researcher. This means that the most
common answers and way of thinking will be bound together in the findings. The findings of the expert
interviews will be discussed in the results and discussion section of the research.
4.4.2 Data analysis of survey

The survey data is gathered through Google Forms, which is a text based survey tool. Since quantitative
analysis is done, the text based answers need to be coded first, which is possible due to all survey
questions being closed. The software used to analyze the data is IBM SPSS 23.0.
Before analyzing any of the data, data visualization is done in order to give the reader a better
understanding of the companies included in this research. Secondly, descriptive analytics is done to gain
additional insights in the data. Thirdly, a correlation matrix is conducted to see which variables are
correlated, and if so, how strong they are correlated. Lastly, two linear regression analyses will be done
in order to test the relations between the big data maturity, optimization of business process
management, and size of the company. The latter is done in order to either accept or reject the
hypotheses.
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From the methodology chapter it can be concluded that the research philosophy follows pragmatism,
and is conducted with a deductive research approach, as hypotheses are tested and either accepted or
rejected. The purpose of the research design is explanatory, as research is conducted in order to find a
relation between variables. Furthermore, the methodological choice of this research is a mixed method
approach, as both qualitative research (expert interviews) and quantitative research (survey) is
conducted. Within the data collection methods chapter the use of the big data maturity model is

explained. But also, the purpose, set-up and sample strategy of both the expert interview and survey are
discussed. Within the data analysis chapter, the methods of analyzing both the expert interviews and
survey are discussed.
43
Chapter 5 - Results
The results chapter presents a summary of data gathered through both expert interviews and the survey.
The findings are analyzed as defined in the data analysis chapter of the methodology. Firstly the findings
of the expert interviews are analyzed by manual clustering. Secondly, the findings of the survey are
analyzed. The survey results are firstly visualized to get a better understanding of the respondents.
Frequency tables of two created variables are shown, followed by descriptive statistics of these created

variables. Furthermore, a correlation matrix is done in order to find out which, and how strong, variables
correlate. Lastly, two linear regression analyses are done to test the relation between the big data
maturity, the optimization of business process management, and the size of the company.
5.1 Results expert interviews

Four expert interviews were held among big data experts. A comprehensive overview of these
interviews and the layout can be found in appendices 4 to 8. The analysis consists of clustering the
answers manually per interview topic. This means that the most common answers and way of thinking
of the experts will be bound together. Additionally, deviant but interesting answers will be shown.
Personal questions
Personal questions of the interviews are not clustered ,as they are irrelevant for the research outcomes.
Basic questions regarding big data

Working with data offers a unique set of opportunities for each company. Collaboration between
companies regarding data sharing and joint creation is seen as the most important opportunity. Another
important opportunity is the use of sensors and other forms of measurable data collection (Internet of
Things), so decision can be based on data and not on gut feeling. Lastly, understanding your
stakeholders (customers, suppliers, regulators, etc) better, so motives and goals become clearer and
more relevant data can be analyzed.
The biggest challenge regarding big data, especially for smaller companies, is that
implementation of data analytics is a costly investment. It is hard to find the right tools and
professionals in the allocated budget. Another challenge revolves around the data quality and data
reliability of companies not being optimal. This means important decisions are based on wrong or
unreliable data. Privacy, security and ethical matters are often also seen as challenges.
44
The most important trends to be implemented in (larger) companies are Internet of Things,
machine/deep learning, and crowd control. For smaller companies the trend is to become aware of the
opportunities and to fully understand their own data, in which integration of information systems is
important. The tools and professionals will become more accessible over time.
The sectors with the most potential of working with big data are: Agri-food, as a lot of sensor data is
available and companies in this market are willing to work together by sharing data. Media, as this is the
current leader in big data related applications. And logistical/manufacturing companies, as they have a

lot of sensor data and high-tech equipment which can monitor a lot of internal data, in order to improve
processes.
Big data usage in manufacturing

The most important opportunity in manufacturing is measuring data throughout the whole business
process using sensors and KPIs. This data can be visualized in dashboards and used for decision making.
However, this data can also be used for predictive analytics, in order to forecast demand, production,
maintenance and warehouse levels. With the implementation of predictive analytics, the productivity of
the business processes will improve.
The biggest challenge within the manufacturing industry is again finding the right tools and
professionals in the allocated budget. It is of utmost importance that all business processes are aligned
and integrated to create reliable data of high quality, which is needed for predictive analytics.
The biggest developments in the manufacturing industry include 3D-printing, machine learning,
and deep learning, which is mainly aimed at larger companies. The development for smaller companies
is that the tools and professionals will become more accessible over time.
Big data and business process management

Improving business process management by implementing data is done best by collecting sensor and
KPI data of processes. This data is visualized and used for all sorts of predictive analytics. So,
management processes such as planning and controlling is optimized, and primary processes can be
improved by predictive maintenance, bottleneck reduction, and warehouse optimization.
45
Regarding the question whether big data maturity influences the optimization of business
process management in manufacturing companies, the experts were quite on the same line, except one.
One expert is totally convinced that the big data maturity of a company, especially in the manufacturing
industry, highly influences the optimization of business process management. As all the dimensions of
the maturity model can be translated into the success of business processes.
The other three experts were more critical towards this relation. They believe that the maturity
does influence the business process management, but that it depends on the differences in stages of the

dimensions. If all dimensions are in, or near, the same stage, they believe that the maturity does have an
influence, as all aspects of data are aligned. But if the dimensions are in more different stages, there are
more factors playing a role, as alignment and understanding between different aspects are missing.
Big data implementation in SMEs

The most significant difference between SMEs and corporate companies regarding data implementation
is that young and small companies are often smarter and more aware of the possibilities of data, as they
are more open to change than larger companies. Corporate companies are hard to steer towards data
implementation, but they do have the investment capabilities, which is often missing in smaller
companies. So, small companies have the brains and the corporate companies have the money.
Overall it is believed that company size does matter in fully harnessing the power of big data in
the manufacturing industry. Of course there are small SMEs having found the formula of success, but
this is just a handful. Furthermore, the difference between large and medium sized companies will not
be too large as well. However, the difference between large companies and small and micro companies
will be enormous. Small companies will be able to harness the same power, once the investment in data
analytics becomes cheaper and more available.
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5.2 Results survey
The survey is conducted by 81 manufacturing companies using Google Forms as a survey tool, which will
be analyzed within this chapter. Google forms is a text based survey tool, which means that all
responses will be coded and imported into IBM SPSS 23.0.
5.2.1 Survey results visualization

Firstly, a visualization of all survey results is shown in order to get a better understanding of the

companies included in this research.
Figure 5.1: Pie chart showing whether companies see big data as an opportunity or a threat (source: survey)
Figure 5.2: Bar chart showing what companies believe to be the biggest challenges (source: survey)
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Figure 5.3: Stacked bar chart showing the optimization of business process management (source: survey)
Figure 5.4: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the organization dimension (source: survey)
48
Figure 5.5: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the strategy dimension (source: survey)
Figure 5.6: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the culture dimension (source: survey)
Figure 5.7: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the people dimension (source: survey)
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Figure 5.8: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the technology dimension (source: survey)
Figure 5.9: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the data dimension (source: survey)
Figure 5.10: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the data governance dimension (source: survey)
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Figure 5.11: Pie chart showing the big data maturity score in the innovation dimension (source: survey)
Figure 5.12: Pie chart showing the age of the company (source: survey)
Figure 5.13: Pie chart showing the size of the company (source: survey)
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Figure 5.14: Pie chart showing the sectors of operation (source: survey)
Figure 5.15: Pie chart showing the annual turnover (source: survey)
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5.2.2 Frequency tables
Within IBM SPSS 23.0, all variables are defined to get a valid dataset to be used for analysis. Also, two
additional variables are added. The first additional variable is the big data maturity score, in which the
scores of the eight dimensions are averaged. A single score ranging from 1 (least) to 5 (best) is
appointed to the variable. The second additional variable is the optimization of the business process
management, in which the scores of the optimization variables are averaged. A single score ranging
from 1 (least) to 5 (best) is appointed to the variable. Frequency tables of the two created variables are

shown, in order to give a better understanding and to see descriptive statistics of both variables. The
mean of all big data maturity scores is 3.13, meaning that the respondents are quite data focused. The
mean of optimization of BPM is 3.43, meaning the respondents have quite optimized their business
processes.
Table 5.1: Descriptive analytics of the big data Table 5.2: Descriptive analytics of the
maturity score (source: survey/IBM SPSS 23.0) optimization of BPM score (source: survey/IBM
SPSS 23.0)
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5.2.3 Descriptive statistics tables
In addition, descriptive statistics tables for all nominal variables, in combination with the two created
variables, are shown in order to have a more detailed view of the analyzed results.

Table 5.3: Descriptive
analytics of whether
companies see big data
as an opportunity or a
threat (source:
survey/IBM SPSS 23.0)
Statistics on the two created scores can be seen compared to whether companies see big data as an
opportunity or a threat. It is found that companies seeing big data as a big opportunity, have a very high
average on both scores. Companies seeing it as a normal opportunity score quite average. Companies
seeing big data as a (big) threat often score very low on both scores. So, the higher a company scores on
one of both variables, the more they see big data as an opportunity. Meaning, companies which do not
work with big data often see it as a threat or do not know the effect.

analytics on the age of
the company (source:
Statistics on the two created scores can be seen compared to the age of the company. According to the
data, the mean of all scores are quite equal among the three age categories. So, the age of the company
does not significantly affect both of the scores.
54
analytics on the size of
the company (source:
Statistics on the two created scores can be seen compared to the size of the company. It is clearly seen
that the size of the company influences both scores significantly. Micro companies (1 to 10 employees)
score quite low on average, with some exceptions. Small companies (11 to 50 employees) score around
2.6 for big data maturity and 3.0 for BPM optimization. Medium sized companies (51 to 250 employees)
start to score higher, with a big data score of around 3.8 and a BPM optimization score of 4.0 which is
quite high. Large companies (250 or more employees) score highest with a big data maturity score of 4.4
and a BPM optimization score of 4.7, which is very high. These larger companies are almost all optimized
in their data usage. So it is found that every step in size of a company (micro, small, medium, large)
scores higher.
55
analytics on the annual
turnover (source:
Statistics on the two created scores can be seen compared to the annual turnover. The results of this
table are somewhat simmilar to the results of the latter table. Thus the higher the annual turnover, the
higher both created scores. The main reason for this simmilarity can be explained by the fact that the
bigger the size of a company, the higher the annual turnover is.
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analytics per sector
(source: survey/IBM
SPSS 23.0)
Statistics on the two created scores can be seen compared to the sector the company is working in. It is
found that both scores are quite similar in each of the sectors. However, these scores differ per sector,
meaning some of the sectors are more advanced in working with big data and some sectors are not. The
higher scoring sectors are: Engineering, metallurgical, and electronics. The average scoring sectors are:
Textile, chemicals, and food processing. The lower scoring sectors are: Toy & game, and other.
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5.2.4 Correlation analysis
To answer the research questions, more detailed analytics is needed. So, a correlation matrix is done to
see whether variables are correlated, and if so, how strong these correlations are. According to
Grotenhuis and Matthijssen (2015), the absolute strength of correlations is seen as either very weak
(.00-.19), weak (.20-.39), moderate (.40-.59), strong (.60-.79), or very strong (.80-1.0). Only the strong
and very strong correlations will be mentioned, as these affect the research outcome the most. Four
strong correlations have been found. Big data maturity strongly correlates with both the number of

employees (r=.67) and the annual turnover (r=.79). Optimization of BPM strongly correlates with
whether companies see it as an opportunity (r=.76) and the number of employees (r=.69). Also four very
strong correlations have been found. The annual turnover of a company has very strong correlations
with both the number of employees (r=.94) and the optimization of BPM (r=.80). Next to that, the big
data maturity correlates very strongly with whether companies see big data as an opportunity (r=-.80).
And the strongest relationship within this correlation matrix is the correlation between the big data
maturity and the optimization of business process management (r=.96).
Table 5.8: Correlation matrix of all variables (source: survey/IBM SPSS 23.0)
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5.2.5 Linear regression analysis
Additionally, two linear regression analyses are done. Firstly, linear regression is done in order to test
the strength of the relationship between the big data maturity and business process management
optimization. Secondly, linear regression is done in order to test the strength of the relationship
between the company size and the maturity of big data.

Table 5.9: Linear regression analysis between The dependent variable optimization of BPM and the independent variable big
data maturity (source: survey/IBM SPSS 23.0)
To measure the strength of the relation, R squared is used, as this corrects the number of predictors in
the analysis. The R square score of this relation is 0.913, which indicates a very strong relation between
The dependent variable optimization of BPM and the independent variable big data maturity.
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Table 5.10: Linear regression analysis between The dependent variable big data maturity and the independent variable size of
the company (source: survey/IBM SPSS 23.0)
To measure the strength of the relation, R squared is used, as this corrects the number of predictors in
the analysis. The R square score of this relation is 0.451, which indicates a moderate relation between
The dependent variable big data maturity and the independent variable company size.
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In the results chapter, the data gathered trough both the expert interviews and the survey are analyzed
as defined in the data analysis chapter of the methodology.
Firstly, the findings of the expert interviews are analyzed by manually clustering the answers.
These results show what the experts think of the opportunities, challenges and trends regarding big data
in both manufacturing and business process management. Furthermore, the experts do believe that
there is a relation between the big data maturity and the optimization of business process management.

However, this is influenced by other factors as well. The experts also agree that the size of the company
does matter in the capabilities of working with data relation solutions.
Secondly, the findings of the survey are analyzed. This is done firstly by visualizing the survey
results in order to get a better understanding of the respondents included in this research. Secondly,
frequency tables of the created variables, big data maturity score and the optimization of BPM score,
are shown, in which it can be seen that both scores score quite high on average. Thirdly, descriptive
statistics tables for all nominal variables, in combination with the two created variables, are discussed in
order to have a more detailed view of the analyzed results. Furthermore, a correlation matrix is done to
see whether variables are correlated, and if so, how strong these correlations are. And lastly, two linear
regression analyses are done, in order to test how strong the relation is between the big data maturity,
the optimization of business process management, and the size of the company.
The most important findings within this research are firstly the very strong relation between the
optimization of BPM and the big data maturity, and secondly the moderate relation between the big
data maturity and the size of the company. Next to that, the opportunity of collaborating and joint
creation mentioned in the interviews is quite notorious. Also, the lack of professionals and the lack of
investments as the biggest challenges are elaborated upon. Furthermore, the fact that the age of the
company does not affect the big data maturity and the optimization of BPM is noteworthy. Lastly, the
correlation between the sector and both of the created scores is discussed, as this does not show a
correlation in the correlation matrix, but there is indeed a difference between the sectors. These
findings are discussed in the discussion chapter.
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Chapter 6 - Discussion
The discussion chapter analyzes and discusses the results, including its implications and consequences. It
presents resolution to the main research questions. The chapter starts with a short recapitulation of the
research motivation and how the research is conducted. Furthermore, the significant findings of the
research are stated and discussed. Followed by resolution on the main research questions. Additionally,
the limitations of the research are elaborated upon and recommendations for further research are

discussed.
6.1 Recapitulation of the research

Big data is mainly used to get ahead of competition by optimization of the business (Chen, Chiang &
Storey, 2012). However, the implementation of data analytical solutions is a costly investment, making it
more available for larger companies, and making it a challenge for smaller companies (Loshin, 2014;
Davenport & Dyché, 2013). Smaller companies are often afraid of taking such a high investment risk as
they are not sure if the implementation of big data analytics will also improve their business significantly
(Reiss & Cruikshank, 2000). So, the research motivation is to find whether there is a relation between big
data usage and the performance of a company. Due to time constraint, the research is demarcated to
the influence of big data on business process management of Dutch companies in the manufacturing
industry.
This research motivation has led to the following two research questions accompanied with
their hypothesis. Firstly, "To what extent does big data maturity influence the optimization of business
process management of Dutch companies in the manufacturing industry?", "H1: The higher the big data
maturity of a company, the higher the optimization of business process management". Secondly, "To
what extent does the company size matter in fully harnessing the power of big data?", "H2: The larger
the size of the company, the higher the capabilities of fully harnessing the power of big data".
Two data collection methods are used within this research. Firstly, expert interviews, which are
conducted to gain additional insights and understandability of big data and how it influences the
business process management and the manufacturing industry. Secondly, a survey, which is conducted
to find a relation between the big data maturity and the optimization of business process management
in Dutch manufacturing companies. Furthermore, the survey is conducted to find out whether the size
of the company plays part in the capabilities of fully harnessing the power of big data.
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6.2 Significant findings of the research
Lots of interesting insights are found during the research. However, within this chapter, only the two
most significant findings are discussed.
The first and most significant finding is based on the relation between big data maturity and the
optimization of business process management. The correlation matrix has shown a very strong
correlation between the two variables (r=0.96). Linear regression analysis is additionally done to find out
how strong the relation is, where optimization of business process management is the dependent

variable and big data maturity the independent variable. The R square score here is 0.913, which
indicates that the big data maturity of a company strongly influences the optimization of business
process management. Within the expert interviews, the relation between the two variables is discussed
as well. The experts all believe that the maturity does influence the optimization of business process
management, but that it depends on whether the maturity stages of different dimensions are on similar
levels. Next to the survey outcome and the view of the interviewed experts, the relation is already
discussed in literature. In literature review it is yet mentioned that big data strengthens the business
intelligence, which is done to find valuable insights and obtain forecasting opportunities often used in
process management (Salesforce, n.d.; Auschitzky et al., 2014), which is said to make the business
processes more productive and profitable (Marr, 2016). According to Earls (2013) and CGI (2013)
business process management is even directly improved by big data and its sensor installations and
process simulation possibilities. So, the survey outcome, the expert interviews, and the literature all
point towards a clear relation between big data maturity and the optimization of business process
management. So the first hypothesis "The higher the big data maturity of a company, the higher the
optimization of business process management" is accepted.
The second significant finding is based on the relation between the size of the company and the
capabilities of successfully implementing data. The correlation matrix has shown a strong correlation
between the big data maturity and the size of the company (r=0.67).To further analyze this relation,
linear regression analysis is done. Big data maturity is the dependent variable and size of the company is
the independent variable. The R square score is 0.451, which indicates that the size of the company
moderately influences the big data maturity of a company. This relation is supported however by Table
5.5: Descriptive analytics on the size of the company, in which the descriptive analysis is shown of the
size of the company compared to both the big data maturity score and the optimization of BPM score. It
can be seen as the bigger the company is, the higher the scores of both variables, meaning that the size
of the company influences the capabilities of working with big data successfully. The expert interviews
63
indicate the same results, as it is believed by the experts that company size does matter in fully
harnessing the power of big data in the manufacturing industry. Smaller companies do not always have
the capabilities to invest and larger companies often do, especially in the manufacturing industry. This
view is also supported in literature. Successful implementation of big data analytics is more common
among larger companies (Davenport & Dyché, 2013; Ferguson, 2013), main reasons being the costs of
data analytical tools to be very high and professionals to be scarce (Loshin, 2014; Lavastorm analytics,
2013), which makes it a risky and uncertain investment for smaller companies as they do not always

have the investment budget (KPMG, 2014). Even though the R square score of the survey results is just
above average, the descriptive analytics, the expert interviews, and the literature all support that there
is indeed a strong relation between the size of the company and the capabilities of successfully
implementing big data. So the second hypothesis "The larger the size of the company, the higher the
capabilities of fully harnessing the power of big data" is accepted.
6.3 Other findings of the research

More discussable but interesting findings are found and discussed within this chapter.
The first finding is the strong relation between the annual turnover of a company and its big
data maturity score. This relation is believed to be this strong as the more annual turnover companies
have, the more money can be spent on data related solutions in optimizing the business processes. This
relation is also strongly supported by literature, as the successful implementation of big data analytics is
dependent on the investment capabilities of companies (Davenport & Dyché, 2013; Ferguson, 2013),
due to the high costs (Loshin, 2014).
The second finding is based on challenges found in both the survey and the interviews.
According to the survey, almost 50% of the companies (expect to) experience a lack of professionals,
which is by far the biggest challenge. Also, lack of financial aids is seen as a big challenge, experienced by
almost 40% of the researched companies. The expert interviews support these results, in which the
main challenge is that it is hard to find the right tools and professionals in the allocated budget. In
literature, articles indeed state that the costs of implementing data analytical tools are very high
(Lavastorm analytics, 2013), due to data scientists being quite scarce, leading to high salary and
operating costs (Loshin, 2014; Lavastorm analytics, 2014; Rossum, 2011).
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The third finding is discussed within the expert interviews, in which the main opportunity is
collaboration between larger and smaller companies regarding data sharing and joint creation. As
research has shown thus far, smaller companies often do not have the capabilities of working with data
and larger companies do. However, smaller companies are often more flexible and smart in working
with data. The remarkable thing is that all the articles in literature extensively discussing opportunities
of big data usage (Rossum, 2011; Lavastorm, 2013; Bloem et al., 2013; KPMG, 2014; Chen & Zhang,
2014) never mention this huge opportunity. It is only mentioned in the challenges however, as both the

experts and the literature mention that collaboration between companies is seen as difficult, as there is
no trust between companies to share data, as they are scared that their data will be used for the wrong
intentions (Chen & Zhang, 2014).
The fourth finding is based on the 25% of companies in the survey that think data does not
provide enough useful data for them. The main reason for this challenge is mentioned by the experts in
their interviews. They find that data quality and data reliability of companies are not optimal, which
means that important decisions are based on wrong or unreliable data, resulting in useless data. Bulger,
Taylor and Schroeder (2014) support this finding and discuss the importance of data quality, reliability,
and availability within their article, in which they mention that if one of the three is missing, useful data
is not easily found and is thus often seen as a challenge.
The last finding is a clarification of data. Within the correlation matrix it is seen that there is a
very weak correlation between the sector of the company and both the big data maturity score and the
optimization of business process management score, indicating that the sector does not influence both
scores. However, this is not seen as true. When looking at Table 5.7: Descriptive analytics per sector, it is
clear that different sectors score differently on created scores. And as mentioned by Johnson (n.d.),
some sectors still lag behind because they do not feel the need to improve.
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6.4 Study limitations and recommendations for further research
In order to keep the quality of the research, the limitations are discussed. Firstly, to inform the reader
on the limitations, and explain why these limitations are present. Secondly, to offer a possibility for
further research, in which the limitations are resolved.
The first limitation is based on the demarcations. The research is demarcated to focus on one
industry (manufacturing) and on one aspect of big data (business process management), due to time
constraints. This will make the research only appealing and applicable to Dutch manufacturing

companies. A recommendation for further research is conducting comparative research in other
industries and their most significant aspects of big data. An example would be online retailers and their
usage of social media based on big data.
The second limitation is that big data is still a hard topic to grasp for a lot of companies and its
employees, especially in smaller companies. So within the survey results, different companies might
have different ideas of how digitally advanced their systems are and how well their big data
implementations are performing. This will results in somewhat less reliable research results. A
recommendation for further research would be to conduct case studies instead of a survey. As this
would give the researcher a more objective view of the actual situation. However, case studies were not
done in this research due to time constraint.
The third limitation is a result of not optimally planning the research. Four expert interviews
were held, and 81 respondents found for the survey. This could have been more if the planning would
have been better. More interviews and more respondents would have increased the validity and the
reliability of the results. A future recommendation is therefore to start planning on time and taking
setbacks into account.
The fourth limitation is based on the fact that technology advances incredibly fast in current
days. The further technology advances, the less reliable this research becomes, as current technology
will become more available for reasonable prices, and more futuristic forms of data analysis will become
available. meaning this research will be reliable for a couple of years only.
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Within this chapter, the results of the research are discussed. The chapter started with a recapitulation
of the research, in which the research motivation, the research questions, and the hypotheses are
mentioned. Secondly, the two most significant findings are discussed. These resulted in both hypotheses
to be accepted, meaning that there is a very strong relation between the big data maturity and the
optimization of business process management. And the size of the company does matter in fully
harnessing the power of big data. This means that Dutch manufacturing companies can use this research

in order to strengthen their decision making process in whether or not to invest in data related
solutions. Big data implementation is still quite a costly investment, meaning that especially smaller
companies will have to face this challenge. Additionally, interesting findings are discussed. These
findings have come forth within the results of the expert interviews or the survey and are supported
with literature.
Furthermore, limitations of the research and recommendation for further research are
discussed. The first limitation is that this research is based on one industry and one aspect of data. The
second limitation is that big data is a hard to grasp topic and that in future research case studies could
help objectify the research more. The third limitation is the low amount of respondents, due to sub-
optimal planning. The final limitation is based on the fact that technology advances incredibly fast in
current days, making the research less reliable over time.
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Chapter 7 - Conclusion
This study has examined the relation between the big data maturity, based on the maturity model of
Theunissen (2015), and the optimization of business process management of Dutch manufacturing
companies. Additionally, the size of the company and its influence on the capabilities of successfully
implementing big data is examined.
The implementation of data analytical tools with the right professionals is a costly investment,

making it more available for larger companies, and making it a challenge for smaller companies. Smaller
companies are often afraid of taking such a high investment risk as they are not sure whether the
implementation of big data analytics will also improve their business significantly. This research aims to
find out whether implementation of data improves the business processes.
Two data collection methods are used within this research. The first data collection method
being expert interviews, which are conducted to gain additional insights and understandability of big
data and how it influences the business process management and the manufacturing industry. The
second data collection method is a survey, which is conducted to find a relation between the big data
maturity and the optimization of business process management in Dutch manufacturing companies.
Furthermore, the survey is conducted to find out whether the size of the company plays part in fully
harnessing the power of big data.
The first significant finding is that there is a very strong relation between the big data maturity
score and the optimization of business process management. This indicates that companies which have
invested in big data related tools and have their strategies around data in order, have optimized their
business processes more than companies which have not made the investment. So the answer on the
main research question: "To what extent does big data maturity influence the optimization of business
process management of Dutch companies in the manufacturing industry?" is that the big data maturity
very strongly influences the optimization of business process management for Dutch manufacturing
companies.
The second significant finding is that there is a relation found between the size of the company
and the capabilities of working with data. This indicates that companies bigger of size, have more
capabilities of investing in data related tools and professionals. So the answer on the sub research
question: "To what extent does the company size matter in fully harnessing the power of big data of
Dutch companies in the manufacturing industry?" is that the size of the company does matter in fully
harnessing the power of big data, because they often have more investment possibilities.
68
For larger manufacturing companies, which have the investment capabilities, it is recommended
to start investing in data related solutions in order to improve and optimize the business processes. On
the one hand will this improve the overall profit of the company, which is interesting for shareholders.
But it will also improve planning, steering, and evaluation, which benefits the employees. Quality
improvement, shorter lead times and higher output will be an improvement for the customers. And
better forecasting and supplier analytics, will improve the relations with suppliers, distributors and other
stakeholders.

For smaller companies which are convinced to start working with data, but which do not have
the investment capabilities some recommendations are made. The first and most important
recommendation is to fully understand the internal data and become aware of the possibilities
regarding this data. Once the data is fully understood the company will know what data related
solutions to invest in. If the data is too costly, it is simply recommended to wait for analytical tools and
professionals to become more cheaply available. If smaller companies want to start working with data
right away, it is recommended to start collaborating and share data with larger companies. The smaller
company is willing to invest in data, meaning they have the mindset and the flexibility to do so. The
larger company which lacks this flexibility does have the investment capabilities. Collaboration between
the two will improve business for both companies if done correctly. In the end, data sharing and more
investment into data related tools and professionals will lead us to a more data driven world.
Limitations of the research are found as well. The first limitation is that this research is based on
one industry and one aspect of data, making it appealing and applicable to only a small group of
companies. The second limitation is that big data is a hard to grasp topic which is subjectified within the
survey, resulting in a lower reliability of survey data. The third limitation is the low amount of
respondents, due to sub-optimal planning. The final limitation is based on the fact that technology
advances incredibly fast in current days, making the research less reliable over time, as investments
become more cheaply and easily available over time.
Recommendations for future research are mainly based on the limitations of this research.
Firstly it is recommended to conduct comparative research for other industries and on other aspects of
data to make the research more available to more industries. Secondly, it is recommended to conduct
case studies instead of survey in order to more objectify the research. Lastly, it is highly recommended
to adapt the research to the current technological advances if further research is applied. As technology
advances, more readily available systems are in place and will therefore change important aspects of the
research.
69
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Chapter 9 - Appendices
Appendix 1 - Thesis proposal..................................................................................76
Appendix 2 - Digital advancement per sector........................................................84

Appendix 3 - Big data opportunities.......................................................................85
Appendix 4 – Layout of the expert interview.........................................................86
Appendix 5 – Expert interview 1.............................................................................87
Appendix 9 - Layout of the survey..........................................................................95
Appendix 10 - Timeline Table.................................................................................99
75
Appendix 1 - Thesis proposal
1. Details of the student

Student number: U765693
2. Rationale
Big data is currently a broad Buzz term. Everyone has heard of the term big data, but not a lot of people

know what it fully entails. The usage of data is mainly implemented to get ahead of competition or to
survive in certain markets where data optimization is already of essential importance (E-businesses)
(Chen, Chiang & Storey, 2012; Brown, Chui & Manyika, 2011). Data optimization is more common
among larger companies (Davenport & Dyché, 2013; Ferguson, 2013), main reasons being the costs of
data analytical tools to be very high and professionals to be scarce (Loshin, 2014). Smaller companies do
not always have access to data analytical tools and professional know-how as they have limited
investment possibilities (Loshin, 2014), and rather invest in higher rewarding and safer options.
"research released by the Economist Intelligence Unit reported that 60% of professionals feel that data
is generating revenue within their organizations and 83% say it is making existing services and products
more profitable" (Marr, 2016). But to what extent is this trustworthy, because if using data analytics is
so advantageous and profitable, then why are Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) afraid of
taking the risk of implementing data optimization?
This research offers both scientific and practical relevance. Scientific, as not much research has yet been
conducted on whether the usage of data within companies has an actual influence on the performance
of a company. So the discussion whether usage of data is indeed advantageous or a marketing trick can
be given new input. Furthermore, it is practical as smaller companies doubting whether it is worth taking
the risk of implementing data analytical tools can strengthen their decision making using the outcome of
this research. If the results of this research turn out to show a strong relationship between big data
maturity and the performance of a company, the risk of return will decrease, and companies are more
likely to invest in data analytical tools and professionals. On the one hand this will increase the return on
investment and eventually profits for these companies. Furthermore, it will stimulate the sales of
analytical tools and job opportunities for professionals. In conclusion, more data is generated, which
could be shared among smaller companies. All these together will stimulate other smaller companies to
start working with data analytical tools and slowly move towards a more data driven world.
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3. Literature review
3.1 Introduction to big data

Big Data has been given a lot of different meanings by experts, which leads to vagueness and
misunderstandings. Two well-known and widely used definitions will be discussed.
The first definition comes from Gartner, which is one of the first parties to be involved with Big Data in

2001. The definition of Gartner (2014) focuses mainly on the processes of big data and is as follows:
“Big Data is high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective,
innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight on decision making”.
The second definition which will be used comes from Lisa Arthur, who is an acknowledged author of big
data marketing. The definition of Lisa Arthur (2013) focuses more on where the data comes from:
“Big Data is a collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside your company
that represents a source of ongoing discovery and analysis”.
Both definitions of big data focus on different aspects. Thus combining them creates the following broad
definition of big data:
“Big Data is high-volume, high velocity and high-variety information assets, collected from traditional
and digital sources, internal and external from your company, which demands cost-effective, innovative
forms of information processing for enhanced insight and ongoing analysis on decision making”.
3.2 Opportunities of implementing big data

Theunissen (2015) has created a table of opportunities to be found when implementing data analytics.
This table focuses on the most straightforward and important opportunities for a couple of segments
found within companies. These segments are strategy, product, process, customer, marketing, market,
and miscellaneous and the table is to be found in appendix 1 - Big data opportunities.
In order to demarcate the research, the focus lies on the process improvement, as one of the biggest
opportunities of data analytics is optimizing process management (Lavastorm analytics, 2013; Bloem et
al., 2013; Chen & Zhang, 2014; Rossum, 2011). Optimizing process management consists of three main
processes: Management processes (planning, controlling, evaluating, steering), primary processes
(Purchasing, logistics, production, aftercare), and secondary processes (people and technology).
77
3.3 Industry demarcation
So far the research has been demarcated to Dutch SMEs in which the focus lies on business process
management. However, if the research focuses on all sectors and industries within the Dutch market,
the research would be too large and the results would be too generalized and thus the
recommendations will not be valid. This research is therefore further demarcated to only one industry.
The industry to be chosen should be working with data already, as otherwise it is very hard to gather
data from surveys. However, the industry to be chosen should not be optimized yet as well, as it still

needs to show potential to grow.
Gandhi, Khanna, and Ramaswamy (2016) have published a report on Harvard Business Review on how
digitally advanced each industry currently is. In Appendix 2 - Digital advancement per sector a table is
shown which shows how advanced each of the sectors is per segment. Only the red box is taken into
account in this table, as the focus lies on business process management.
The advanced manufacturing is above average in digitization on the business processes, but still shows
potential to grow. Basic goods manufacturing is on average and thus shows potential to grow as well
according to the table of Gandhi, et al. (2016). So data analytical tools and professionals are already
known within the manufacturing industry and yet there is still room to optimize. Furthermore,
manufacturing is to be found in many sectors which leads to a research applicable to many sectors
making it more attractive. Since manufacturing is to be found in many sectors it should not be too hard
to find enough respondents for the survey.
4. Research question
4.1 Main research question

"To what extent does big data maturity influence the optimization of business process management of
Dutch SMEs in the manufacturing industry?"
4.2 Sub research question

"To what extent does the company size matter in fully harnessing the power of big data?"
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5. Research objectives
Research objectives form the heart of the thesis and steers the research. The following five research
objectives have been chosen and will be explained shortly.
5.1 Identification of business processes

To identify the different types of business processes applicable within this research, focusing on the
managerial, primary, and secondary process possibilities. This is done in order to better understand the

different forms of business processes and which processes to be improved by implementing data.
5.2 Exploring opportunities, challenges, and trends regarding data implementation

Once the business processes have been further defined, implementation will be discussed. However, all
processes within a business are different and will need different managerial focus. The second objective
aims to research and understand the opportunities, challenges and trends for the chosen business
processes. This is partly done by expert interviews and partly done by literature research.
5.3 Exposing the need for data within business processes using a survey
In order to expose the need for data analytics within business processes for Dutch SMEs in the
manufacturing industry, a survey will be conducted. This survey will examine the big data maturity, the
business process management, and demographic details of manufacturing companies in the Dutch
market. The gathered data will be analyzed in order to draw conclusions to expose the need for data
within business processes.
5.4 Analysis of a relation between big data maturity and business process optimization
The results of the survey will be used to analyze whether there is indeed a relationship between the big
data maturity and the optimization of business process management. If so, then this research will
contribute towards the decision making process of SMEs in the Dutch manufacturing industry.
Furthermore, this research can be used to expand scientific research in the field of big data.
5.5 Recommendations among Dutch SMEs in the manufacturing industry

To make appropriate recommendations for SMEs in the manufacturing industry in order to make them
more aware of the opportunities of big data within their business process management.
79
6. Theoretical background
6.1 Dependent variable: Business process management optimization

A lot of research has been conducted on how to improve process management (Chen & Zhang, 2014;
Rossum, 2011), of which the three forms are: management processes, primary processes and secondary
processes.
First the management processes (planning, controlling, evaluating, steering) will be measured on

management level. So how have these processes developed over the last five years. Have there been
new protocols for these processes and how effective and efficient have these changes been internal to
the company. And finally, have these changes/developments been done with the use of data related
applications.
Secondly the primary processes, which is manufacturing in the case of this research, will be measured
using standard KPIs. Furthermore, the general developments within these departments will be
examined, and if these developments were originated from Big Data related applications.
Thirdly the secondary processes, people and technology, will be evaluated. this will be done by
examining the investment made on people and technology combined regarding data analytics in the
manufacturing process.
6.2 Independent variable: Big data maturity

Big data maturity is of great importance within this research, as it measures the Big Data usage within a
company on several dimensions. These dimensions have five levels of maturity which gives a very clear
picture of how well a company is working with Big data related applications (Leenders, Peute & Winden,
2009; Theunissen, 2015) and can be found in appendix 3 - Big data maturity model.
The “Big Data maturity model” (Theunissen, 2015) has eight dimensions and five levels of maturity.
These eight dimensions are: Organization, Strategy, Culture, People, Governance, Technology, Data, and
Innovation. The five levels of maturity are: Initial, Repeatable, Defined, Managed, and Optimized.
Within this research, a positive relation is expected between the Big data maturity of a company and the
business process management optimization. Mainly focusing on the dimensions organization, People,
Technology, and Data of the model. When a company has the right people with the right skills and the
best technology, they will be able to use all datasets and implement them into reducing flaws, creating
more efficient and effective processes, which results in the optimization of processes. Therefore the
following hypothesis is formulated:
80
"H1: The higher the big data maturity of a company, the higher the optimization of business process
management."
6.3 Dependent variable: Company size

The size of the company is also expected to play a part in the big data maturity of a company. It is
shown that larger companies often have more investment capabilities and knowledge to start
implementing big data related applications (Chen et al., 2012; Bloem et al., 2013)

Within this research the size of a company is classified according to the European commission (DG
Enterprise and Industry, 2015) and is determined by:
1. The number of employees;
2. Either turnover or balance sheet total.
Company size Employees Turnover or Balance sheet total

Large ≥ 250 > € 50 m > € 43 m
Medium < 250 ≤ € 50 m ≤ € 43 m
Small < 50 ≤ € 10 m ≤ € 10 m
Micro < 10 ≤€2m ≤€2m
Table 9.1: Classification of Enterprises (source: DG Enterprise and Industry, 2015)
Within this research, a positive relation is expected between the size of the company and the ability of
fully harnessing the power of big data. Micro and small companies often do not have the investment
capabilities to start working with Big Data related applications as it is too expensive. Furthermore, they
often cannot contract the people with the right skills (data scientists) to do so (Lavastorm analytics,
2013). In Medium sized companies this is seen more often. But it is believed that the large companies,
which have more employees and turnover, have more money to spend in contracting the right people
and Big Data related applications. Thus, the larger the company, the more capable the company is fully
harnessing the power of big data.
"H2: The larger the size of the company, the higher the capabilities of fully harnessing the power of big
data."
81
7. Research methodology
7.1 Research design

Within this research the hypotheses are derived from the literature, which means that this research is
seen as deductive (Dooley, 2001). The concepts used within this research are yet known in the
literature, thus the relationships can be tested in a quantitative method. The relationships can be tested
with the use of surveys, in which the unit of analysis is "business process management" and the two

units of observation are "Big data maturity" and "the size of the company". This survey will be done at
one moment in time, making it a cross-sectional design (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012). Next to a
survey, semi-structured expert interviews will be held in order to better understand the concepts used
within this research. Thus this research will be a mixed method research consistent of a qualitative and a
quantitative approach. The research philosophy of this research is interpretivism , as it focuses on
socially constructed, subjective information, which will be gathered mainly during the expert interviews
within this research (Saunders et al, 2012).
7.2 Data collection

For data collection, surveys will be used. These surveys will be held among companies within the Dutch
market, in the manufacturing industry, and which are typified as SMEs. This survey will be divided into
three parts. The first part is the ‘Big Data Maturity model’ (Theunissen, 2015), which focuses on the Big
Data maturity of the company. The second part is 'process management', which focuses on the three
processes (management, primary, and secondary) and its development in recent years. The third part
focuses on 'demographic details', to gain insight into the size and type of company that has been
interviewed. Next to that, semi-structured interviews will be held among experts in the field of big data.
This interview will mainly focus on the opportunities, challenges, and trends of data usage within the
manufacturing industry.
7.3 Sample strategy

The aim is to reach a large variety of companies, which all have different characteristics for a more valid
result. This can be done by using the simple random sampling method (Verhoeven, 2010). As we want to
include a large variety of companies within our research, our sample should leave at least 100 useful
responses, which means that the questionnaire should be sent to hundreds of companies. We aim to
have these questionnaires filled in by General managers of these companies, as they have the most
knowledge on both the processes and Big Data usage within their company.
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7.4 Data analysis
As this is a deductive study, quantitative analysis will be used to analyze the data. The program used to
analyze the data is IBM SPSS 23.0 (Maybe modeler, to be discussed). Descriptive analysis will be drawn
first to summarize all the gathered data. Secondly, a correlation matrix will be done to see if the
variables are related to each other. Third, multiple regression analysis will be done to test these
relationships between the dependent and independent variables.
83
Appendix 2 - Digital advancement per sector
Figure 9.1: Digital advancement per sector (source: Gandhi, Khanna, & Ramaswamy, 2016)
84
Appendix 3 - Big data opportunities
Strategy - Development/improvement of business model based on data;
- Cooperation with other companies regarding data-sharing in order to get ahead of

competition;
- Improvement of the decision making process based on data;

Product - Gaining more insight into customer's perception of product/service;
- Development/improvement of product/service;
Process - Improvement of management processes (planning/controlling/evaluating/steering);
- Improvement of primary processes (purchasing/logistics/production/after-care);
- Improvement of secondary processes (people and technology);
Customer - Improvement of customer segmentation;
- Gaining more insight into customer behavior;
Marketing - Improvement of market positioning;
- Personalized solutions/advertisements (individual customer portfolio);
- Improvement of company brand awareness;
Market - Identification of new markets;
- Gaining more insight into the market and improvement of targeting;
- Gaining more insight into current and new competitors;
Miscellaneous - Fraud detection;
- Improvement of risk assessment;
- Selling generated data;
Table 9.2: Table of big data opportunities (source: Theunissen, 2015)
85
Appendix 4 – Layout of the expert interview
Personal questions
1. Could you give a short introduction of yourself (and the role you have at your company)?
2. What is your affinity with Big Data?

3. What do you believe to be the most important opportunities of big data (for SMEs)?
4. What do you believe to be the most important challenges of big data (for SMEs)?
5. What do you believe to be the most important future trends/developments in big data analytics?
6. Which industries do you believe can benefit the most from big data implementation, and why?
Big Data usage in manufacturing

7. What do you believe to be the most important data related opportunities in manufacturing?
8. What do you believe to be the most important data related challenges in manufacturing?
9. What do you believe to be the most important data related future trends in manufacturing?
Big Data and business process management

10. In what way could data be implemented to improve business process management overall?
11.To what extent does big data maturity influence the optimization of business process management in
manufacturing companies?

12. What are significant differences between SMEs and corporate companies and their abilities of data
implementation (and in the manufacturing industry)?
13. To what extent (and how?) can these differences be accounted for in such a way that SMEs can get the same
amount of value out of big data as corporate companies?
14. To what extent does the company size matter in fully harnessing the power of big data (and in the
manufacturing industry)?
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Appendix 5 – Expert interview 1
Name interviewer: Rodney van Rijen
Interviewee position (Company): Advisor innovation & data (Kamer van Koophandel)
Personal questions
Could you give a short introduction of yourself (and the role you have at your company)?
‘I have been working for KvK for quite a while, but since three years have I been actively involved with big data. I
have been actively involved in the set-up of the Big data Value Center (BDVC). Currently I am looking at the
possibilities of using big data within the internal trade register of KvK.’

Could you give an explanation of what KvK does in the field of Big data?
‘Three years ago big data was initiated within KvK (in cooperation with Syntens) to stimulate the Dutch economy.
The main service we provide regarding Big data is creating awareness and consult entrepreneurs within the
Netherlands. KvK works closely together with the BDVC, where research is conducted regarding Big data and is
communicated with us. KvK focuses on the somewhat smaller SMEs, as these companies often do not work with
data yet and they form the engine of the economy. Most of these small SMEs are very enthusiastic about the
opportunities, but are afraid of using it. KvK normally thinks in four parts: Customer, Market, Product, and Process.
With each consultation, KvK evaluates these four parts and reviews if they can be supported with Big data related
applications. Within KvK we see Big data as a factor which can make or break your business. You can’t avoid
working with data in the future, even if it is something small. So we want to make people aware of the possibilities
before it is too late. These entrepreneurs should also understand that they own interesting data, which can be
valuable for other companies as well. at KvK, we are proponents of the idea of joint creation and innovation of data
related items, where several companies work together to optimize their data usage.’

What do you believe to be the most important opportunities of big data for SMEs?
‘Especially within SMEs, the biggest opportunities are in the four parts: Customer, Market, Product, and Process.
Another opportunity is the use of sensors and other forms of measurable data collection. Decisions can be based on
collected data and not explicitly on gut feeling anymore. Next to that, data sharing and joint creation is motivated
within KvK’.
What do you believe to be the most important challenges of big data for SMEs?
‘For good data analyses you need employees which have the skills to do so. You will also need the right tools to do
these analyses. SMEs often do not have these employees and tools and therefore have to hire external forces. Not a
lot of SMEs have the budget and the time to do so. Also a lot of SMEs do not have a culture within their company
which allows data based working. The biggest challenge in companies is the battle between the hoodies (IT) and
the suits (Business). If these two groups are not on the same line, it is very hard to successfully implement data
related applications. Privacy and ethical matters are also very important in the world of Big data.’
What do you believe to be the most important future trends/developments in big data analytics?
‘It is the same story as the rise of the internet itself. In the beginning it is only used by very large companies, which
had the investment to do so. Now each and every company can make use of the internet. We believe this will be the
same for big data, that it will become more accessible over time, for everyone’.
Which industries do you believe can benefit the most from big data implementation, and why?
‘First of all, the leisure market (Holidays/Hotels/Flights), for instance Booking.com. Secondly, the digital world
(Media/Retail) is currently the leader in big data related applications. Furthermore, we believe there are a lot of
possibilities in the improvement of processes (logistical/manufacturing companies).'
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Big data usage in manufacturing
What do you believe to be the most important data related opportunities in manufacturing?
'For larger companies there are lots of opportunities. Predictive modeling, forecasting, full automation of business
processes and integration between the information systems. However, for smaller companies, the opportunities are
smaller scaled. These smaller companies should start with small automation of processes and make sure their
planning and production is in order, before thinking bigger'.
What do you believe to be the most important data related challenges in manufacturing?
' A company needs the right people and the right tools, which are not easy to find and often quite costly, especially
for SMEs. Furthermore, in the manufacturing industry, it is of utmost importance that all business processes are
aligned and integrated. If the planning and controlling is not optimal, so will the process.'

What do you believe to be the most important data related future trends in manufacturing?
'Implementing sensors within the business processes in order to get more data for decision making. Also, predictive
analysis is already available, but costly and hard to implement. I believe that this will be less costly and more
available for all sorts of companies, making it possible for more companies to forecast demand and production.'
Big data and business process management

In what way could data be implemented to improve business process management overall?
'For management processes, we advice companies to install sensors and KPIs on primary processes in order to
measure the most important data. For primary processes, we advice to automate and improve processes and if
possible work on product improvement. For secondary processes, it is very important that the data related
strategies are aligned and understood by all the employees working with it, meaning the data culture is in order.
Also the data related tools should be understood by professionals.'
To what extent does big data maturity influence the optimization of business process management in
'Big data maturity has a large influence on the optimization of business process management, especially in the
manufacturing industry. The secondary processes, people and tools, are two of the dimensions in the maturity
model. So it is obvious that the secondary processes are optimized when the maturity on these dimensions are high.
Management and primary processes are also influenced by the big data maturity, especially focusing on the
organization, strategy, and culture dimensions and if they are on the same level.'

What are significant differences between SMEs and corporate companies and their abilities of data
implementation?
‘Corporate companies often have their own IT teams, which means they have more knowledge and skills than
SMEs. Also, corporate companies have more investing opportunities, and thus are able to optimize data usage.'
To what extent (and how?) can these differences be accounted for in such a way that SMEs can get the same
amount of value out of big data as corporate companies?
'SMEs could start working together with other smaller companies and get a lot of value out of a data related
project. Everyone can start working together, even competitors, and create a lot of value with the use of data. The
biggest problem in this case is that a lot of people and companies don’t trust each other and are not willing to
share information with other companies.’
To what extent does the company size matter in fully harnessing the power of big data (and in the manufacturing
industry)?
'The company size matters, also in manufacturing companies. I am not comparing a company of 300 and 200
employees, as they could still be equally develop in data usage. For companies that big it often depends on their
data strategies and culture within the company. But for small companies under 50 employees, and especially micro
companies under 10 employee, compared to medium and larger companies, the difference is immense, mainly
because of their investment capabilities.'
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Interviewee position (Company): Founder (ISeeTea); Project Manager IT (Break- through project big data)
Personal questions
‘I am an independent computer architect and the founder of ISEETEA, which specializes in data management and
research infrastructure. Since October 2014, I’ve been working for the 'Break- through project big data' as project
manager.’

What is your affinity with Big Data?
‘I have always been interested in IT and working online, which is also the reason why I started my own company.
Around 4 years ago “Break-through project big data” approached me to work with them on data related projects,
which was the start of working with big data.’
Could you give an explanation of what ‘Break- through project big data' is?
‘In June 2013 “Break-through project big data” was initiated. The goal is to help SMEs get aware on how to use big
data to improve business. Within the first year 9 projects have been initiated all focusing on the awareness of big
data opportunities. The second year, the goal is to do more hands-on work regarding big data. The project will then
be passed on to the data fabrics, as we call them. There are currently six data fabrics in the Netherlands. Within the
Netherlands we can clearly see a leading group which is really active with big data. We focus mainly on three
sectors, which are: Healthcare, Gaming/New Media, and Agri-food.’
What do you want to achieve with this project?

‘After we have made the SMEs aware of the opportunities, we would like to help them implement them. We found
that smaller companies find it very hard to start working with data. That is the reason why we have decided to
match larger companies with the capabilities of working with data with smaller companies which often have the
mindset of working with data. These companies share the results and are both working more efficient in that way.’

What do you believe to be the most important opportunities of big data (for SMEs)?
‘Working with data offers a lot of opportunities for each company, even for SMEs. However, the biggest
opportunity in my opinion is the collaboration between larger and smaller companies in sharing and working
together regarding big data.'
What do you believe to be the most important challenges of big data (for SMEs)?
‘finding the trust for companies to share data and work together. Companies are scared to share data. Because
they think they won’t get the same value back. Also privacy and security are huge risks in the world of Big data. And
especially for SMEs, it is hard to find the right people and tools within the allocated budget’
‘The biggest trends and developments can be found within the larger companies. But we don’t focus on these.
Within SMEs the biggest development right now is becoming aware of the opportunities. next to that SMEs should
be working on fully understanding their own business and data and integration of their information systems.'
‘I believe this to be the Healthcare, Gaming/New Media, and Agri-food sectors.'
89
'For SMEs, the biggest opportunity is data sharing and collaboration with larger companies. This means that
smaller companies will have the capability of working with better tools and knowledge. Secondly, integration of
information systems and understanding the own business is important. For larger companies, internal process data
provides opportunities, such as improved planning, improved decision making, and better understanding of the
process.'
'Same as the basic challenges. No trust between companies regarding data sharing, and it is hard to find right
people and tools in the allocated budget.'

'The trends and development currently available in larger companies, such as predictive modeling, and bottleneck
reduction will all become available for smaller companies for lower prices. Thus more knowledge, expertise and
opportunities in manufacturing will become available for lower prices over time.'

'When companies collaborate, data can be shared among companies in order to share their best practices in
business process management. Also sensors can be implemented through the business process, which can be used
to improve the production planning, improve decision making, and better understanding.'
'If the dimensions are somewhat on the same level, I would say the maturity is beneficial for the business process
management. As all aspects of the company will then be on the same level of understanding and the different
process management levels can be improved, especially management and primary processes. However, when a
company scores a 2 on half of the dimensions and a 4 on the other half, I don't think the maturity is beneficial for
the process management, as alignment and understanding between different aspects is missing.'

‘What we have found while conducting research is that young companies are often smarter and more aware of the
possibilities of data. Small and young companies are often more open than older companies, as the strategy and
culture is harder to change in these larger companies.’
industry)?
'Overall, I would say that the size of the company would not matter too much in fully harnessing the power of big
data. We have seen companies with five employees which were optimized in data usage. As said, young companies
are often smarter and more aware of the possibilities of data and these companies are easier to steer than larger
companies. However, if we look at the manufacturing industry, I would say that the size matters more than at the
average industry, since it is hard to operate a manufacturing company with only five employees and still optimize
data usage.'
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Interviewee Position (Company): Senior Business Developer (TNO)
Personal questions
‘I have been working for TNO for 13 years, where I am a Senior Business Developer. Before that I have worked 17
years for KPN on the business management side. During my time at KPN, I was the co-developer of the ADSL
services. When I started working for TNO I was placed in the telecommunication branch, but as time passed by I

grew into the IT side of TNO and started working more and more with big data.’

‘7 Years ago, when I was already working for TNO, I came into contact with a person from Internal Affairs, who was
very active with big data. He was engaged by disclosing governmental data to improve the market opportunities.
After meeting this person, I have done some researches for Internal Affairs regarding big data in cooperation with
TNO. After a while, I was appointed the director of the big data departments within TNO.'
Could you give an explanation of what TNO does in general?

‘TNO is a non-profit organization which was founded 80 years ago, which conducts researches. In the beginning,
TNO focused only on scientific research and how to make this applicable and helpful for people and companies
within the Netherlands. Nowadays, research is also conducted in social matters. TNO is not seen as a governmental
organization, but is financed by Economic Affairs for around 25 to 30%. The goal of TNO nowadays is to improve
innovation within the Netherlands for both people and companies.’

'I believe that the effective use of data is a big factor for competitive advantage. SMEs need to unravel some of the
opportunities in order to get ahead of this competition. Firstly storing larger amounts of data, as SMEs deal with
lots of data. However, they do not save it due to lack of storage, which is a waste of valuable information. Secondly,
understanding stakeholders (customers, suppliers, regulators) better, so motives and goals become clearer and
more relevant data can be analyzed.’
‘The biggest risk I consider is developing new products and services according to the wrong data. So maintaining
databases which are not valid, and drawing conclusions from these databases. This can happen when one of the
analyzing processes fails or if the data wasn’t reliable in the first place. This can be solved by always validating the
information within your databases. Also privacy and ethics are really important topics in the world of Big data.'
‘Within TNO we are currently doing a lot of work regarding the Internet of Things and deep learning, which I believe
are the biggest trends currently. Crowd control is also quite a trend and very interesting.’
‘TNO itself works a lot with the Agri-food environment, which shows a lot of big developments. They have a lot of
data with the use of sensors and the cooperating possibilities are great as well. Secondly, we work a lot with
logistical companies, which haven't come that far yet. The main reason is because most of the companies don’t
want to work together and share data. If this can be changed and companies would be open to share data, the
logistical sector would be way further in developments. Finally, crowd control is very interesting, which is for
instance done in Schiphol.’
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'First of all, better understanding of the stakeholders in order to know which data is relevant and where the focus
should be. Secondly, sensor data. You put sensors along the process, create a dashboard and you can see all
relevant data. This data can be used to make important decisions or find hidden insights. Also cooperation between
manufacturing companies and other relevant companies would increase the productivity and planning.'
'First of all, companies don't want to work together and share their data, because they are afraid. Secondly,
important decisions based on wrong data. '

'Internet of Things is the biggest trend to be implemented by manufacturing companies right now. Machine
learning and deep learning are two trends which are more futuristic for the average manufacturing company, but
will provide great opportunities in the future, once they are better developed and more easily accessible.'

'Sensor data could and should be implemented. This data can then be used to improve the management processes,
by better planning and decision making. It can also be used to improve primary processes, by better understanding
the process and better forecasting due to predictive modeling.'
'This strongly depends on which dimensions score high and if they are on the same level. If a company is initial in
the data dimension, thus only making use of internal sensor data, but the organization, strategy, people, and tools
are optimized, a company could still perform really well. I do believe in most cases, that the higher the maturity the
more optimized the process management is.'

‘I think the biggest differences can be found in the capabilities. Larger companies have the capabilities to work with
data but often don’t know how to. Smaller companies don’t often have the capabilities even when they have a
perfect plan on how to implement 'big data. That is exactly the reason why TNO is helping these companies find
each other and start working together.’
industry)?
'Larger companies often have the capabilities, and smaller companies do not. Even though smaller companies often
have a better data related strategy. Thus, the size of the company still affects the capabilities of working with data,
by the fact that big data analytics is still a very expensive solution. Smaller companies can harness the same power,
once the investment becomes more cheap.'
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Interviewee position (Company): Principal Business Consultant (TNO)
Personal questions
‘I have been working for TNO for 14 years now. Within TNO, I am a consultant and project leader, mainly focusing
on data related matters. I have coordinated the knowledge development center within TNO for a couple of years in
which we focused a lot on innovation, in which big data is very important.’

‘My former employer was KPN, where I have been working on pattern recognition, which meant that we had to
automate and digitalize handwritten mail, which is how I ended up working with data.’
Could you give an explanation of what TNO does in the field of Big data?
‘Within TNO, big data research is conducted. However, we see it from a different perspective. We look at the
concept of the ecosystem. The problem definition of our research is: What combination of cooperating companies is
able to effect a data driven innovation in the best way. So we look at companies that don’t have the capabilities to
work with data on their own. We focus on a set of companies which are willing to work together and to achieve a
common data driven goal. The most important factors are data availability, privacy, and the degree in which
innovation actually meets the needs of the people who need to use it.’

‘There are three main opportunities in my opinion. First of all, the efficiency and effectiveness of all sorts of things
can be improved with the use data from all kind of sources. Secondly, things that couldn’t be done in the past, will
become possible with new technologies and new ways of analyzing data. Lastly, cooperation between companies,
which are willing to work together and stimulate data and knowledge sharing. If this is done correctly, a data-
driven world is one step closer.'
‘The biggest challenge of people using big data analytics is that they believe every single thing they see. They put a
lot of data in a system and whatever comes out is seen as truth, which I think is unprofessionalism among
employees. However, not all information coming from big data analytics is true. In some situations we speak of
spurious correlations, which are correlations based on coincidence or wrong/unreliable data. So, I think data quality
and data reliability are still two challenges. I always advice people to use common sense when using data analytics.
Next to that, current big data developments within SMEs are simply too time-consuming and too expensive. SMEs
are often looking for more help and ready-to-use programs, which are easy to understand and are more cheap. The
problem is that these programs don’t exist yet. The Big data era is comparable with the e-commerce/Digital
Marketing era. So within a couple of years there probably will be off-the-shelf products regarding big data which
can help SMEs.’
‘The biggest trend according to me is being able to do things which weren’t able before. This is a continuing process
which creates more and more possibilities over time. As soon as people start realizing something is possible to
create it will become a development. A good example of this is DNA testing, numerous old police cases had been
reopened and solved because of this.’
93
In which industries do you believe SMEs can benefit the most from big data implementation?
‘Three groups of companies benefit the most from big data usage. 1. SMEs with a large customer base and which
are very dependent on marketing; 2. SMEs which work with high-tech machines and valuable equipment; 3. SMEs
working with a lot with sensors. These sensors are meant to do a lot of readings and measurements.’

'The most important opportunity for manufacturing companies is being able to forecast demand, production,
maintenance, and warehouse levels by implementing predictive analytics. Measuring is knowing in the
manufacturing industry, in which the data quality and reliability should be high in order to make valid decisions.
Thus the whole process should be monitored and measured in combination with a good strategy. This way a

manufacturing company can increase its efficiency and effectiveness.
'First of all, the data quality and reliability of a company. When decisions are based on wrong/unreliable data, the
company won't optimize the processes. Secondly, smaller SMEs can't afford high-tech tools and the right
professionals yet. The right thing to do for these smaller SMEs is to wait for off-the-shelf tools. However, in the
meantime, they should make sure their information systems are integrated and have full understanding of their
own processes and data.'
'On the short term, I believe that the development of 3D printing in manufacturing is going to be of great
importance. On the longer term, I guess we will have some new technologies we haven't heard of yet.'

'High quality and reliable data, which has been measured throughout the business processes could be implemented
within a dashboard in order to visualize the data. Data analytics can be applied in order to forecast demand,
production, maintenance, and warehouse levels to improve the business process management.'
'This strongly depends on which dimensions are in which maturity stage. If all the dimensions are in the same
maturity stage for a company, I would say that it influences the optimization of business process management, as I
think successful process management relies on data. However, if the dimensions of a company fluctuate on several
maturity stages, I think more factors are in play.'

‘Corporates have the money and SMEs have the brain. Combine these and you will have an effective and efficient
way of retrieving and using data for significant uses.’
industry)?
'In the manufacturing industry, I guess that size does matter. Even though, smaller companies often have a good
idea on how to implement data and are easy to adapt to new technologies, they will still need the investment to
buy the tools and professionals. Of course, there are smaller companies which have figured out the formula of
success, but this is just a handful. Larger companies do not always have the right expertise and tools, and the
cultures are mainly hard to adapt to new technologies. But they do often have money to invest, due to their size.
With the right amount of money, external data teams and consultants can be hired in order to take care of the data
implementation. So not only size matters, but also the amount of money a company has to spend on projects. And
larger companies often have more money to spend.'
94
Appendix 9 - Layout of the survey
Big data general
Question 1. Do you experience 'big data' as an opportunity, threat, or both for your company?
o A big opportunity
o An opportunity
o Both an opportunity and a threat
o A threat
o A big threat

o I do not know
Question 2. Which challenge(s) have you experienced / do you expect to experience when implementing data
analytical tools within you company?
o Lack of proper technologies and / or analytical tools
o Lack of knowledge and / or professionals
o Lack of financial aids
o Lack of time
o Lack of data storage
o Data does not provide enough useful data
o No challenge experienced
Business process management

Question 3. Indicate to what extent the following statement apply to your company.
Totally disagree
Totally agree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Management processes (planning, controlling, evaluating, steering)
Within our company we use data analytical tools to improve overall management processes
Predictive modeling is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Forecasting demand and production is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Process planning is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Trends and pattern recognition is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Primary processes (production process)

Within our company we use data analytical tools to improve overall primary processes
Business automation is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Productivity is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
The quality of our product is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Occupancy rates are optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Cost reduction is optimized compared to other companies in the industry
Lead times are optimized compared to other companies in the industry
95
Supporting processes (people / technology)
We have sufficient professionals with data analytical skills to fulfill our data-related tasks
We have sufficient data analytical tools to fulfill our data-related tasks
Big Data Maturity

Question 4. To what extent is your company working with data? Choose the description which suits the
company most.
Organization

1. Initiatives on implementing data analytics within our company
o are unstructured and individual.
o are primarily performed on project base, but not necessarily initiated by management.
o are initiated on regular basis by management and executed by an appointed data team.
o are usually taken by management. All departments are actively working with data.
o are explicitly taken by management. Working with data has been fully adopted by the entire company.
Strategy
2. Within our company, the strategy regarding data analytics is
o not formulated. Data analytics is used without any purpose or strategy.
o somewhat formulated and predetermined by project.
o formulated for longer term for the entire company.
o controlling and influencing the entire business strategy.
o completely integrated with the business strategy.
Culture
3. Within our company, data (analytics) is considered to be
o a burden. No one within the company sees any value in the use of data. Decisions are therefore not
influenced by data.
o promising, mainly from the IT department. Other departments do not see the value of data. Hence,
decisions are not influenced by data.
o promising, both from IT and management. Data is taken into consideration when making decisions.
o a valuable tool. Decisions are often based on data.
o Indispensible. All decisions are made on the basis of data.
People
4. Within our company, we have
o no employees with the skills to successfully analyze data.
o One or more employees with soft skills to analyze data. These employees are once and again used to do
data-related research on project base.
o a part-time data team of professionals. This team regularly researches data-related topics.
o a full-time data team of professionals. This team researches data-related topics daily.
o all necessary expertise and skills in the field of data. Multiple full-time data teams research data-related
topics daily.
96
Technology
5. In order to collect, store, process, and analyze data successfully within our company, we
o use very simple technologies that are not specifically intended for data processing (i.e. Microsoft Excel).
o have purchased one or a few technologies that serve one specific purpose regarding data. These
technologies are not integrated.
o have purchased technologies that serve multiple purposes regarding data. These technologies are not
integrated.
o have purchased technologies that serve multiple purposes regarding data. These technologies are
somewhat integrated.

o optimized both hardware and software, in which all tools are fully integrated.
Data
6. The data we use within our company is
o only structured (simple data, such as client and payment data) and internal data.
o both structured and unstructured data, which is all internal data.
o both internal and external / open data. However, these types of data are still often structured.
o All types of data (internal / external / open, structured / unstructured). These types of data are often not
integrated.
o All types of data (internal / external / open, structured / unstructured). These types of data are fully
integrated.
Data governance
7. Data governance (quality, security, ownership, privacy) within our company is given
o No attention.
o some single attempts.
o standardization. a data governance program is defined.
o control by management. Variables are in place to control data governance.
o organization wide attention. Variables are in place to control, but also steer and manage data governance.
Innovation
8. Innovation is seen within the company as
o insignificant. We do not need that.
o optional. There are some needs to innovate. But the outcomes are often contradictory.
o promising. Methods and procedures are being drafted to facilitate implementation of innovation.
o important. Integrated and aligned innovative activities are being implemented.
o indispensible. Innovation is seen as a sustainable competitive advantage.
97
Demographic information
Question 5. How long does your company exist?
o 9 years or shorter
o 10 to 25 years
o 25 years or longer
Question 6. How many employees does your company include? You may add together full-time and part-time
employees.
o 1

o 2 to 10
o 11 to 50
o 51 to 100
o 101 to 250
o More than 250
Question 7. In which type of manufacturing industry is your company active?

o Textile industry
o Chemicals industry
o Engineering industry
o Food processing industry
o Metallurgical industry
o Electronics industry
o Toy & game industry
o Other
Question 8. How much is the company's annual turnover approximately?

o Less than 500.000 Euro
o 500.000 to < 2 million Euro
o 2 million to < 5 million Euro
o 50 million tot < 100 million Euro
o More than 100 million Euro
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Appendix 10 - Timeline Table

Table 9.3: Timeline table
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A study of how big data maturity influences business

process management in Dutch companies in the

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Rodney van Rijen

Masters Thesis Project

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Specialization Business Analytics

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Name: Rodney van Rijen

Date: 6 September 2017

Name: Rodney van Rijen

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Rodney van Rijen

Keywords and abstract .................................................................................................... 3

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1.1 Research motivation

1.1.2 Relevance of the research

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1.2.2 To explore big data related applications and implementations

1.2.4 To test and either accept or reject the set hypotheses

1.2.5 To make recommendations for Dutch manufacturing companies

1.3.1 Main research question

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1.3.2 Sub research question

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1.6 Chapter conclusion

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2.1 Theoretical context using the filter effect

2.1.1 Dutch market

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2.2 Chapter conclusion

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3.1 Information management and systems

3.1.1 Definition of information management

Transaction Processing System (TPS)

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Office Automation Systems (OAS)

Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)

Management Information systems (MIS)

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3.2.1 Definition of big data

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3.2.2 Three Vs of big data

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Data quality, reliability, availability

Data volume and data velocity

3.4.1 The manufacturing industry

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3.4.2 Data implementation of Dutch manufacturing companies

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