Profiting from Customer Data: a Proposed Research Agenda

The unprecedented volume of data captured by modern hospitality firms during the co-production of the service experience can be used to create economic value. In this article we describe two frameworks grounded in the cross-disciplinary literature in information systems, strategy and marketing, that can help in conceptualizing future research directions in this area. In the first framework, the IS cycle describes the process by which data, generated by transaction processing systems, become the basis for future analyses and initiatives. The second framework enables a disciplined industry analysis by allowing for joint evaluation of the theoretical repurchase rate, degree of customizability of products and services, and degree of unobtrusive data capture that characterizes a given firm’s value proposition. This paper focuses on setting the theoretical framework of reference. A discussion of future research directions and propositions is reserved for the conference presentation due to space limitations.