Elucidating Theory of Malaysian Data Crisis in Demystifying Dark Data Catalyst

This article presents the findings of a research on the dark data phenomenon faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Malaysia in connection to the features of dark data from SME perspectives. The dark data was found to be influenced by the data shadow in the form of grey and black data which each differentiated by the intensity of data darkness, a condition that influenced data from being found and utilized. In this study, there were 18 samples produced from Inductive Grounded & Emergent Theory Sampling, which was used to discover acceptable samples for the study, were subjected to qualitative research. Using semi-structured interviews that were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the Grounded Theory Methodology, data was obtained. The outcomes of the study emphasized on the emergence of Data Crisis which found to be the major factors contributing to the dark data often found in SME archives. The research demonstrates that there is a dearth of literature on dealing with dark data, indicating that dark data epistemology is still emerging. The findings indicated that the Data Crisis is a situation in which a business proprietor is confronted with the repercussions of inadequate data management. On the basis of the experiences of Malaysian SMEs, a model was proposed to elucidate the data crisis.