An empirical study of the rise of big data in business scholarship

•Big data is a fragmented emerging domain of research theoretically and empirically.•We identify 8 different concepts of big data from 41% of studies that defined it.•Focus on tools, how-to, and conceptual papers indicates early stage of development.•Top benefits included unprecedented potential to measure and manage predictively.•Top challenges are lack of skillset for big data use, and privacy concerns.