Exploring the economic value of open government data

Abstract Business models for open data have emerged in response to the economic opportunities presented by the increasing availability of open data. However, scholarly efforts providing elaborations, rigorous analysis and comparison of open data models are very limited. This could be partly attributed to the fact that most discussions on Open Data Business Models (ODBMs) are predominantly in the practice community. This shortcoming has resulted in a growing list of ODBMs which, on closer examination, are not clearly delineated and lack clear value orientation. This has made the understanding of value creation and exploitation mechanisms in existing open data businesses difficult and challenging to transfer. Following the Design Science Research (DSR) tradition, we developed a 6-Value (6-V) business model framework as a design artifact to facilitate the explication and detailed analysis of existing ODBMs in practice. Based on the results from the analysis, we identify business model patterns and emerging core value disciplines for open data businesses. Our results not only help streamline existing ODBMs and help in linking them to the overall business strategy, but could also guide governments in developing the required capabilities to support and sustain the business models.

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Keywords Open government Open Data Business Models Open data industry Values disciplines Business models Business model framework

Fatemeh Ahmadi Zeleti, the lead author of this article is a researcher in e-Government unit at The Insight Centre for Data Analytics (formerly Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) — a leading research center in Semantic Web and Linked Open Data research), National University of Ireland, Galway. At The Insight Centre for Data Analytics, her research addresses challenges exist in Open Data-Driven Organizations in relation to Business Models and Data Capabilities. Her research is not limited to this but, she is also heavily involved in European level projects around Open Data, Public Sector Information, Public Administration, Innovation in Governments, Smart Cities and Cloud Computing. She is an active member of the Swedish Research Network in e-Government and ImmigrationPolicy2.0. She is a writer of the book: E-Government of Iran: From Vision to Implementation and Development. She is the chair of e-Government and ICT Track at MindTrek Conference — the conference is hosted annually since 1997. Her research interests have spanned a broad range of topics such as: Software Engineering, Open Data, Open Government, Business Models, Smart Cities, ICT4D, e-Government, e-Services, e-Democracy and e-Participation.

Adegboyega Ojo is a Research Fellow and leads the e-Government Group at The Insight Centre for Data Analytics, National University of Ireland, Galway; Republic of Ireland. His research focuses on how to drive innovations in government organizations through the applications of Semantic Web, Linked Open Data and Collaboration technologies. His current portfolio of research and development projects is funded under the Seventh Framework Program of the European Commission. Before his current role, he worked as Academic Program Officer, Research Fellow and Post-doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Electronic Governance, United Nations University — International Institute for Software Technology (UNU). At UNU, his work benefitted several governments including Macao, Korea, Mongolia, Colombia, Cameroon and Nigeria. He has published widely in the areas of Strategies, Architecture and Standards, e-Participation, Open Governance and Open Data. He obtained his PhD at the University of Lagos, Nigeria (1998), where he was appointed Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Computer Science in 2003 and 2012 respectively. He is also Adjunct Lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Edward Curry is a Research Scientist and leads the Green and Sustainable IT research group (dgsit.deri.ie) at The Insight Centre for Data Analytics, National University of Ireland, Galway (formerly known by Digital Enterprise Research Institute). His research projects include studies of sustainable IT, energy intelligence, semantic information management, and collaborative data management. Edward has worked extensively with industry and government advising on the adoption patterns, practicalities, and benefits of new technologies. Edward has published over 70 scientific articles in journal, books, and international conferences. He has given invited talks at Berkeley, Stanford, and MIT. In 2010 he was a guest speaker at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium to an audience of 600 + CIOs and senior IT executives. He currently participates in a project for the European Commission to define a research strategy for the Big Data economy within Europe. He has a PhD from the National University of Ireland, Galway and serves as an Adjunct Lecturer within the University.

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