Georgetown U., McDonough School of Business, United States
We introduce satellite data as a new data source for organizational research. Organizational theory is increasingly used to explain large scale ecological and environmental challenges. However, organizational researchers lack the appropriate data sources and methods to properly investigate grand societal challenges at scale. Satellite data is accurate, offers near-real-time availability, resolves information asymmetries, and is increasingly cost effective and user friendly, making it a lucrative source of information. We delve into the strengths and limitations of this new type of data, discuss various data sources, types, and associated methods, and highlight its potential through an illustrative use case, which explores the effects of sustainability certification implementation among Malaysian palm oil plantations. Through our use case, we find that sustainability certifications may encourage inefficient land use, which runs counter to existing findings in organizational and management research. In doing so, we hope to stimulate interest in the adoption of this method among organizational and management research.
