The term "big data" does not refer simply to the quantity of digital information, but to a qualitative leap in ability that collecting such large sets of digital information makes possible. Those capacities include "the ability to extract new insights or create new forms of value, in ways that change markets, organizations, the relationship between citizens and governments, and more" (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier, 2013). However, it has been argued that big data can also be the foundation of information asymmetry between firms with differing access to data, and between countries due to the digital divide (Ciuriak, 2018b).