Data sharing in the fire industry – creating better and proactive safety, A qualitative case study

Abstract: We are all familiar with the traditional job of a fireman: they receive news that a fire occurred, they rush into a fire truck, an alarm sounds and they race off to save and protect life and property (Schilling, 2014). While this approach will stay mostly the same, the aim of this research is to analyze factors that are likely to affect stakeholders and their decision to share fire-related data as it presumably enhances proactive fire safety. Sandbox is the name of the project which was initially introduced by the Svensk Brandskyddsföreningen (SBF). The idea is to develop a business model which connects different stakeholders in the fire-related industry. Subsequently, their data should be aggregated and analyzed in order to deduce new findings with the goal to enhance proactive fire safety. However, before someone can start to develop a business model, it is important to understand the viewpoints and concerns of each of the stakeholders as their data is a crucial variable, determining the feasibility of the whole project. This thesis employs a qualitative approach in form of a case study. The required data was collected throughout the conduction of semi-structured interviews, involving six different organizations that are currently engaged in the collection of fire-related data. The results indicate that the overall willingness to share fire-related data is well existent, nevertheless the findings also highlight that there are a number of motivational and discouraging factors that influence data owners and their decision to engage in data sharing. These factors mainly relate to the organization itself but also to aspects, identified by Elinor Ostrom and her perspective on the collective action theory. Further, the results show that related benefits and challenges of data sharing and data analytics are likely to affect data owners and their decision to engage in data sharing. Based on the empirical findings and reviewed theory, a new model was developed which incorporates the previously mentioned factors and concurrently summarizes the thesis. Further, it outlines the prerequisites for future research, which should aim towards the development of a business model related to the Sandbox idea.