Core catalyst conditions influencing dark data emergence: a grounded theory approach

Most of the literature highlighted dark data research from the perspective of academic research institutions and large business firms, and none was found to be about Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The impact of dark data is the risk that could harm the business enterprise. The dark data residing within the enterprise repository could disturb legal compliance with data management regulations and legislation. Therefore, grounded theory research was conducted to investigate the dark data phenomenon towards SMEs in Malaysia. The primary goal of this study is to discover how organizations prepare themselves for dark data caretaking. By using the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM), 18 SMEs were selected and sampled through snowballing and theoretical sampling procedures. The study found that business owners prepare their organization to deal with dark data by enabling data caretaking which is comprised of a few core catalyst conditions consisting of leveraging technology, upskilling, security and controlling. Although the enabling caretaking effort facilitates the data caretaking activities simultaneously it influences the occurrences of data crisis.