Designing a Primary Personal Information Market as an Industry Platform: a Service Innovation Approach

It is well recognised that personal data have intrinsic value to B2C companies. However, there are no widely adopted means by which individuals can benefit financially from the personal data they generate. Furthermore, there is a substantial lack of empirical research on markets for online personal data. Nevertheless, prior work has shown that a Primary Personal Information Market (PPIM) is a viable solution to the problem of monetising personal data. This paper explores how a PPIM could be conceptualised and designed as an Industry Platform. Using an integrated Service Innovation Method (iSIM) we incorporate into our design a multi-sided personal information business model to facilitate commercialisation. An initial prototype is developed and its utility from a data product consumer’s perspective is evaluated using semi-structured interviews with industry practitioners. We find that a PPIM conceptualised as an industry platform has significant commercial appeal and that it resolves a number of objections raised in response to previous designs.