Data Monetization Challenges in Established Organizations: A Systematic Literature Review

Over the last decades, researchers and practitioners have looked at data as a valuable asset for improving business processes in organizations. However, nowadays, they see data more as a tradable asset that can be monetized. Data monetization here refers to generating revenue from selling data and data-based products and services. Despite providing opportunities for generating new revenue streams, data monetization is not without challenges, especially in established organizations. Previous research shows that an organization’s data monetization capability is constrained by its existing business model, infrastructure, and organizational culture. Although Information Systems (IS) research and practice have shown an increasing interest in data monetization, we lack a thorough understanding of its challenges. As a first step in addressing this gap, we set out to identify challenges that established organizations face in monetizing their data. To that end, we conducted a systematic literature review and identified 21 challenges reported in the extant literature. Based on their nature, we divided these challenges into five categories, including business model, legal & regulatory, security & privacy, organizational, and data management challenges. Our study has several implications for IS research and practice.