The term "Big Data" usually refers to the phenomenon related to the vast amount of data available and analyzable thanks to digital technologies. At the Institute of Management, there is an active research group engaged in research and training on the impact of Big Data on innovation and organizational processes in businesses, in close connection with the Department of Excellence L'Embeds at Scuola Sant'Anna.  
In an increasingly complex environment, the ability to collect and analyze large amounts of data can help businesses (both small and large, both profit and non-profit) to implement more conscious and effective strategies and actions to generate equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth.

Research Group

The research group, composed of Giulio Ferrigno, Andrea Piccaluga, Alberto Di Minin, Saverio Barabuffi, Francesca Pascale, Rizwan Haider, Elena Cellai, Cecilia Claudia Poli, works with faculty, researchers, students, and research centers to study the impact of Big Data on businesses and promote virtuous data usage practices. 

Data Analytics

We have expertise in data analytics, including data collection, cleaning, transformation, and analysis. We use advanced techniques to extract meaningful insights from large datasets. Our team is proficient in machine learning algorithms, enabling us to build predictive models, identify patterns, and automate decision-making processes.

Business Intelligence

We understand the importance of translating data insights into actionable business intelligence, helping companies make informed decisions and improve performance.

Research Methodology

We employ rigorous qualitative and quantitative methodologies to ensure the validity and reliability of our findings, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in the field of Big Data.

The group's goal is to produce high-quality scientific research and teaching, as well as to play an active role in promoting the construction of a European research infrastructure ("SoBigData") https://pnrr.sobigdata.it/. Moreover, the scientific and administrative team, and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, is involved as the leading organization in the inter-regional project IAIA, Interreg Maritime Italy- France.

Key activities

1. Research Projects: The team is involved in several research projects on the theme of Big Data. Namely, we work in the following sectors: 
   Open Innovation: We explore the role of Big Data in driving open innovation, examining its impact on SMEs in Italy 
   New Product Innovation: Our research investigates how Big Data can facilitate both radical and incremental product innovation for SMEs, analyzing the effects of different data characteristics. 
   Innovation performance: We delve into the relationship between Big Data characteristics and different types of innovation, including open innovation and incremental innovation.
   Patent Innovation: We uncover the potential of Big Data for patent innovation, exploring its role in driving technological advancements.

    

2. Master in Big Data Analytics & Social Mining: Teaching in the Data-Driven Innovation course in the Master's programme in Big Data Analytics & Social Mining at the University of Pisa. 

    

3. SoBigData++, SoBigData PPP, SoBigData RI PNRR: The Institute's research team is involved in the implementation of the research infrastructure led by the "SoBigData" project, both in terms of technology transfer (and thus the diffusion and acceleration of innovation among the project's European partners, WP 5 of "SoBigData++"), and in the study, development, and implementation of a business model that fosters the project's economic and financial sustainability (WP 3 of "SoBigData PPP") (WP 4, “SoBigData.it” RI PNRR https://pnrr.sobigdata.it/ ). For these projects the funding received amounted respectively to € 3.222.266; € 9.997.172 and € 19.998.550. 

    

4. IAIA (Innovazione Aperta transfrontaliera: connessioni per startups e MPMI attraverso tool di Intelligenza Artificiale), Interreg Maritime Italy- France: Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, to which the BigData group belongs, embodies the project leader organization of IAIA project. This latter aims to promote collaboration and innovation between startups and SMEs in five bordering territories (Tuscany, Sardinia, Corsica, Liguria, and VAR) between Italy and France. Through a data-driven and artificial intelligence-based approach, the project intends to create a matchmaking platform and promote open innovation opportunities, with the goal of developing collaborative projects to compete in public tenders and/or develop product, process, and organizational eco-innovation projects. (https://interreg-marittimo.eu/progetti-finanziati1) For IAIA, the consortium of project partners was granted  with about € 1.769.884.

    

5. FAIR: The institute research team is involved in applying Machine Learning and Text Mining techniques to extract information and analyze unstructured textual data to understand and manage innovation processes and outcomes (https://fondazione-fair.it/progetto/) The fund allocated for this project amounts to € 114.493.643.

Publications

• Ferrigno G., Barabuffi S., Marcazzan E., and Piccaluga A. (2024). What “V” of the Big Data influence SME’s Open Innovation Breadth and Depth? An empirical analysis. R&D Management https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12727
• Ferrigno, G., Del Sarto, N., Piccaluga, A., & Baroncelli, A. (2023). Industry 4.0 base technologies and business models: a bibliometric analysis. European Journal of Innovation Management, 26(7), 502-526. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-02-2023-0107
• Ferrigno, G., & Cucino, V. (2024). Industry 4.0 Technologies in a Developing Country: The Case of Costa Rica. In Emerging Advancements in AI and Big Data Technologies in Business and Society (pp. 49-78). IGI Global  https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-0683-3.ch003
• Ferrigno, G. (2024). How to Make Mental Healthcare More Accessible: The AI Therapy of Headspace. In AI and Emotions in Digital Society (pp. 179-208). IGI Global https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-0802-8.ch009
• Sala G. R., Barabuffi S., Ferrigno G., and Marcazzan E. (2025). Revolutionizing Business Models through Data-Driven Innovation: the Case of Hudi. In "Building Business Models with Machine Learning. IGI Global https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-3884-1.ch012

Main Partners

Aalto University; Alma mater studiorum Università di Bologna; Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Carlo Ratti Associati; Center for the Study of Democracy; Central European University; CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche); Cnrs; Confindustria La Spezia; DIH Toscana; Ecole d'Economie de Paris; EGI Foundation; ETH Zurich; Fraunhofer IAIS; Istituto di Calcolo e Reti ad Alte prestazioni (ICAR); Istituto di informatica e telematica (CNR); KODE; King’s College London; KTH Vetenskap och Konst; Leibniz Universitat Hannover; Lider Lab SSSA; Nubisware; OpenAIRE; Reimagine Europa; Sardegna Ricerche; Scuola Alti Studi Lucca; Scuola Normale Superiore, STACC Turning data into value; TU Delft; TVT Innovation; Università degli Studi di Catania; ; Università degli Studi di Palermo, Università di Genova; Università di Pisa; Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Universitat Rovira i Virgili; University of Amsterdam; University of Tartu; University of Sheffield