Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction

Statement of the problem

State of research

Terminological clarification

Objective of the thesis

Theoretical framework

Big data

Etymological origin

Epistemological conceptualization and hermeneutical observations

Delimitation from related terms

Data mining

Algorithms and machine learning

Artificial intelligence

Big data pitfalls

Big data change the definition of knowledge

Claims of objectivity and accuracy are misleading

Bigger data are not always better data

Taken out of context, big data lose their meaning

Accessibility does not make them ethical

Limited access to big data creates new digital divides

May big data be with you

Big data at the socio-technological level

Technology and society

Technological determinism

Social determinism

Socio-technological concurrence

Big data at the organizational level

Epistemological framing

Organizations as open systems

Big data in cybernetics

Big data in systems theory

Big data in population ecology theory

Big data in complex systems theory

Big data at the human (resource) level

Current status of big data in human resource management

Classification of views

Augmentation as an alternative path

Research framework

Mental model

Methodology

Analytical implementation

Core assumptions of big data within organizations

Temporal dimensionality

Factual dimensionality

Social dimensionality

Cross-sectional dimensionality

Homeodynamic organization

Characterizing homeodynamic organization

New roles of the human resource department

Big data specific roles

Big data watchdog as cross-sectional role

Human resource daemon

Data farm

Fog of big data

Big data baloney detection

Big data tinkering

Big data risk governance

Big data immersion

Big data authorship

Big data curation

Big data literacy

Human resource centaur

Big data membrane

Homeodynamic Goldilocks zone

Results

Summary

Limitations

Implications for human resource management

Implications for research

Implications for teaching

Outlook