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LUOMA ET AL .
compliance to more strategic use of data – that is, to bringing the cus- tomers value. Companies would benefit simultaneously from system- atic cultivation of solid capabilities related to environmental performance data, also to better approach corporate sustainability from an employee engagement perspective and reap related benefits (Karatas-Ozkan et al., 2022). Such endeavors involve data- management systems but also skills in analyzing data and practices whereby the players utilize data to support environmentally informed decisions. Advances of this nature are a necessary component for a strong backbone to data's utilization and for overcoming the chal- lenges identified from our research material – most prominently, data- accountability and incompleteness problems, limited coverage of the value chains, the difficulty of gathering the data required, and lack of common definitions and methods. Today, in contrast, handling (inter- nal or external) environmental-performance-related data requests is labor-intensive, and the data-management systems do not support efficient collection, management, or sharing of data. Hence, any data sit idle, lacking value for the business and the environment both. Diverse touchpoints for product-specific data along value chains (data interfaces, data platforms, approachable user interfaces, etc.) would enable efficient sharing and improve data's usability in many types of relevant business decisions.
specific environmental data across buyers and suppliers (Comas Martí & Seifert, 2013; O'Rourke & Lollo, 2021). Our findings render it obvious that, if the environment-related data are to create value for environmental performance, they must guide a variety of activities and decisions – significantly better than they do at present. Environment-critical decisions are made in numer- ous business functions, from design to operations, and span all the way to consumers. If utilized well, environment-related data would be flexibly applied to meet multiple needs, serving quarterly management updates, specification of procurement policies, provision of consumer- facing details of the environmental impacts of their consumption, and so forth. Companies are starting to integrate environmental data into their product- and supply-chain management systems; however, most still lack efficient ways to collect, manage, and utilize environment- related data. The state of affairs appears not to have advanced from that identified in prior literature (O'Rourke & Lollo, 2021; Ren et al., 2019). The findings imply that the focus in applying environment-linked data is shifting from company-level compliance-driven annual report- ing to multifaceted utilization of data in work affording sustainable product value chains and product portfolios, coupled with endeavors to nudge consumers toward sustainable purchasing choices. Creating value of this nature from data throughout and between product value chains calls for the products' providers and their customers to co- create meaningful and easily verifiable environment-related data and value through interaction aimed at data's versatile utilization. Regard- ing value creation as a co-creative and interactive process conducted between suppliers and customers reflects the contemporary way of thinking about customer value (Ballantyne, 2004; Grönroos & Voima, 2013). This process is dynamic also (Flint et al., 1997), shifting as associated priorities, regulations, and data needs change. Our find- ings attest to data's multidimensional nature and dependency on the context of making use of the data; this conclusion is supported also by earlier studies (Macdonald et al., 2016; Tzokas & Saren, 1999).
5.3
Limitations and further research
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Our work is not without its limitations. First, the analysis was based on the views expressed by the informants. All retail- and professional- sales customers participating in the study assigned high priority to environmental sustainability and saw opportunities for data to support it. For this reason, the findings reflect perspectives on data's value pri- marily within companies that could be called pioneers of environmen- tal sustainability. Second, the customers involved displayed variation, especially with regard to the utility of data for bringing value. Their perspectives depended on such contextual elements as the customer company's ownership and markets. Third, the value of data is likely to be perceived differently from person to person within any given com- pany, and individuals have both their own goals and shared, collective ones (Macdonald et al., 2016). The issues and opinions raised by the informants can be seen as specifically topical for them at the time of the research, and one could expect these to shift as foci of interest evolve and as priorities among various development needs shift over time. In addition, it should be noted that three of the interviews were conducted in a language not native to the interviewees. Though rec- ognizing the potential downside to this, we wanted the research team to be properly engaged throughout the data-collection process. For broader understanding of how companies may, with data, support their customers in working toward environmental sustainabil- ity, research could explore several areas for further study. Scholarship could benefit from concrete empirical cases of data supporting better environmentally informed decisions (by both humans and AI) for busi- nesses and their larger value chains via assessment of the related environmental and business value. Researchers could also cultivate
5.2
Management implications
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Our main practical contribution lies in strengthening the understand- ing of how companies could, with data, better support their cus- tomers' environmental sustainability. With a customer-driven approach to the value of data, companies can better prioritize their data-development initiatives in line with the customers' developing needs and continuously deliver customer-recognized value. The insight pertaining to the perceived customer value of data could serve to motivate and guide companies' further exploration of opportunities in this domain, alongside other value chains' contexts. Also, there is a recognized need to anticipate what customers will consider valuable, from their standpoint and in their terms, if companies are to continue creating value for their customers in a constantly changing world (Rantala et al., 2019; Rintamäki & Saarijärvi, 2021). Through a forward-looking approach to customer expectations and needs, efforts focused on environment-related data could shift from
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