Barriers to and mechanism for open government data use by the private sectors: A grounded theory approach

Open Government Data (OGD) has made tremendous progress, as local governments have established OGD platforms and made data accessible to the public. Nevertheless, the actual use of OGD by the private sectors remains well below expectations, despite the widespread belief that the private sectors have substantial demand for it. Although there are some literature describing the barriers to OGD use, the relationships between these barriers and the mechanisms behind the limited use of OGD by private sectors have not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to uncover their relationships to formulate a holistic theory and gain a deeper understanding of this issue. Through interviews with 18 senior managers, engineers, and other professionals from various private sectors, and applying the classic grounded theory method, a theoretical model was constructed to explain the private sectors' use of OGD, comprising four main categories, i.e., cognition, business value assessment, value pursuit, and organizational context, with value pursuit playing a pivotal role. This study contributes to the current literature by proposing a behavioral process mechanism to integrate various factors of OGD utilization by private sectors. Based on the findings, some recommendations are presented for policymakers to improve the use of OGD and OGD construction.