The dual effects of the Internet of Things (IoT): A systematic review of the benefits and risks of IoT adoption by organizations

Paul Brous*, Marijn Janssen, Paulien Herder

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

157 Citations (Scopus)
333 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) might yield many benefits for organizations, but like other technology adoptions may also introduce unforeseen risks and requiring substantial organizational transformations. This paper analyzes IoT adoption by organizations, and identifies IoT benefits and risks. A Big, Open, Linked Data (BOLD) categorization of the expected benefits and risks of IoT is made by conducting a comprehensive literature study. In-depth case studies in the field of asset management were then executed to examine the actual experienced, real world benefits and risks. The duality of technology is used as our theoretical lens to understand the interactions between organization and technology. The results confirm the duality that gaining the benefits of IoT in asset management produces unexpected social changes that lead to structural transformation of the organization. IoT can provide organizations with many benefits, after having dealt with unexpected risks and making the necessary organizational changes. There is a need to introduce changes to the organization, processes and systems, to develop capabilities and ensure that IoT fits the organization's purposes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number101952
Number of pages17
JournalInternational Journal of Information Management
Volume51
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Adoption
  • Asset management
  • Big and open linked data
  • Case study
  • Duality of technology
  • Internet of things
  • IoT
  • Smart cities
  • Structuration theory

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The dual effects of the Internet of Things (IoT): A systematic review of the benefits and risks of IoT adoption by organizations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this