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IMDS
123,2
616
Received 27 May 2022
Revised 15 October 2022
Accepted 3 November 2022
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 123 No. 2, 2023
pp. 616-629
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-05-2022-0316
Space economy: a new frontier of
information systems, analytics and
digital commerce
Yang Lei and Yue Guo
Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Xiaotong Li
The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, and
Zhe Jing
Department of Management and Marketing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
Hong Kong, China and
Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Abstract
Purpose – The space industry has experienced rapid development over the last few years. Activities such as
building things in space, learning about our Earth and exploring outer space are satisfying people’s fantasies
and achieving humanity’s ambitions. Such activities have also generated many issues that belong to several
information systems (IS) research domains. In this article, the authors discuss the challenges and opportunities
associated with the space economy.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors discuss why the emerging space economy opens a new
frontier of e-commerce and data analytics. Linking three important IS research areas (i.e. digital commerce, data
analytics and information security) to the space economy, this study motivates scholars to pay close attention
to this promising new frontier for IS research.
Findings – The authors identify new research opportunities within several IS research contexts (digital
commerce, data analytics and information security). The authors highlight the potential for opening a robust,
interdisciplinary field in the IS domain that could provide valuable insights for practitioners and academics.
Originality/value – Because of the unique characteristics of the space economy, this article presents some
promising avenues, research opportunities and implications for several IS fields (digital commerce, data
analytics, decision science, information sharing and information security and new business models). Indeed,
many opportunities are interdisciplinary in scope, with overlaps occurring between IS and other disciplines.
Keywords Digital commerce, Information systems research, Space economy, Space industry
Paper type General review
1. Introduction
With the development of modern technologies, humans are rapidly expanding their activities
from Earth to outer space. For example, considering that the fossil resources on Earth are
depleting at a very high speed (estimated to be used up by 2050), many countries are trying to
explore appropriate alternative resources in outer space to replace fossil resources on Earth
(Babiker et al., 2008; Blount and Robison, 2016). Thanks to the rapidly declining costs of relevant
technologies, there exists a booming space industry that produces things going into outer space,
such as satellites and rockets (Wooten and Tang, 2018). As the various types of space activities
Funding: Generous financial support was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
[grant numbers 71872061] and the Key Program of NSFC-FRQSC Joint Project (NSFC No. 72061127002,
FRQSC No. 295837). This work is partially supported by Shenzhen Humanities and Social Sciences Key
Research Bases.
Conflicts of interest/competing interests: The authors certify that they have no affiliations with or
involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the
subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
have increased, a broader concept of space economy has emerged that encompasses all products Space economy
and services involved in exploring and utilizing outer space. For instance, space tourism, or and
commercial human spaceflight, is the newest way for visitors to travel to outer space and enjoy
space observation. It is estimated that the total value of the space economy is about US$385bn in
information
2020, which is projected to grow to at least US$1 trillion around 2040 (Stanley, 2020). systems
Our information systems (IS) discipline mainly focuses on understanding how the
development of information technology influences individuals, organizations and societies
(Alavi and Carlson, 1992; Straub and Ang, 2011). As the emerging space economy involves 617
various new technologies and IS, it is reasonable and necessary to ask how space economy
expands the scope of IS discipline and how the IS discipline develops in this promising domain.
In addition, the space economy may generate unique space-related data, i.e. inhospitable
locations data in outer space and experiment data in space that would be different from that on
Earth. Such new data may require different algorithms to analyze and show different patterns
compared with those on Earth. Ideally, IS scholars will be the thought leaders who can
proactively assess the pertinent implications of the emerging space economy for various
stakeholders. This article explores IS’s role in commercializing outer space activities and
examines potential IS research opportunities associated with space economy.
Over the last two decades, IS scholars have devoted their research efforts to a variety of
emerging domains, such as e-commerce, mobile commerce, big data analytics, blockchain and
digitalization (Grover et al., 2018; Heiferman et al., 2020; Kourouthanassis and Giaglis, 2012; Sun
Yin et al., 2019; Vladimir, 1996). While space economy as a domain has some similar or analogous
attributes, it has many unique characteristics that merit original analyses and investigations by
IS researchers. In this study, we do not intend to explain what has happened in practice or why a
specific industry (or company) launched a particular initiative. Instead, we want to explore
potentially new ideas that may motivate IS researchers to start thinking about IS-related
problems in the space economy, perhaps even before identifying these problems.
This paper proceeds as follows. We first explain the scope of the space economy, from its
original beginning to its current status. This background provides IS scholars with insights into
the substance of entity transactions involving activities in outer space. Then, we discuss several
challenges because of the unique characteristics of the space economy. Furthermore, we discuss
new research opportunities within several IS research contexts (digital commerce, data analytics
and information security). While IS scholars have devoted their efforts on a variety of research
topics, the reasons for us to focus on these three IS-related contexts are as follows: first, the new
space economy is believed to generate new types of products and services. Because of the
prominent role of digital commerce in enhancing our ability in searching and purchasing
products/services, we focus on the linkage between space economy and digital commerce.
Second, besides new products and services, the space economy can generate new types of data,
which present both challenges and opportunities for the research on data analytics and
algorithms. Third, because of the distinct ways for data generation, storage and transmission
(e.g. between space and Earth), information security should be a crucial concern for both
enterprises and consumers of the space economy. Our discussions highlight the potential for
opening a robust, interdisciplinary field in the IS domain that could provide valuable insights for
practitioners and academics. Finally, we conclude this article with a discussion of several
potential research questions relevant to both IS discipline and the emerging space economy.

2. Background of space economy

The start of human space exploration can be traced back to the 1950s and 1960s when the space
arms race occurred between the United States of America and the Soviet Union (NASA, 2019).
During that period, space activities are conducted under government guidance, especially under
the tight control of the two superpowers. The most famous institution is the National
IMDS Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), founded in 1958 (History.com, 2009). It is an
123,2 independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civilian space program
and aeronautics and space research (NASA, 2016). Many famous programs, such as X-15
programs, Project Mercury, Project Gemini and Project Apollo, have been introduced to facilitate
the initial efforts to understand and explore outer space (Lafleur, 2010). Later, with the launch of
several space stations (e.g. Soviet Salyut and US Skylab), the intense competition between the
Soviet Union and the United States of America began to thaw.
618 As the space arms competition subsided, space-related technologies and industries
continued to evolve and advance from the 1970s to the 2000s. Within this period, many joint
programs between the two superpowers were underway. As a result of the increasing
demand for communication satellites to meet the needs of television providers, telephone
services and global positioning data applications, a small number of commercial applications
emerged. The increasing demand for space activities combined with more cost-conscience
government space agencies led to more cooperation between governmental space agencies
and private entities (Wooten and Tang, 2018).
Over the past 15 years, many firms, through operating individually or collaborating with
governmental entities, have played an increasingly more significant role in the space economy,
shifting many responsibilities from governmental agencies to the private sector. In 2007, in the
speech to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of NASA, NASA Director Michael
Griffin said that the “Space Economic” era has arrived, and space activities have created a new
market space (Mould and Cabbage, 2007). As more private enterprises participate in this new
market space, technological innovation will become the driving force for the sustainable
development of the space economy. In 2008, SpaceX became the first private firm to successfully
launch a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit, demonstrating the feasibility of having more significant
proportions of privately funded space activities (Owens and Singh, 2017). One of the most
prominent industry statistics for the space economy is the number of launches to outer space.
For example, in 2020, 114 space launch missions were carried out globally, and in total, 104 were
successfully launched. Consequently, the consistently increasing demand for launches has led to
increased licensing attempts to expand spaceport capacity.
With technology advances and decreasing technological costs, commercial firms are
planning to take passengers to space. For example, Virgin Galactic is selling advance tickets
for customers to take suborbital flights at US$250,000 a seat (Freeman, 2018); SpaceX is
developing a reusable Starship rocket that can seat up to 100 people, planning to send tourists
to the moon sometime around 2023 (Keehn, 2018). Moreover, future potential commercial
markets include human space travel (for tourism and transportation), space stations with
hospitality and commercial office applications and space manufacturing (Bryce Space and
Technology, 2017). For example, space breeding is one of the space activities with potentially
significant economic consequences. Because the mutagenic effects in space cannot be
simulated on the ground (high vacuum, cosmic high-energy ion radiation, cosmic magnetic
field and high cleanliness), crop seeds or test tube seedlings can easily mutate in space. In this
way, new varieties can be cultivated more efficiently (Liu et al., 2007). In addition, space
mining is another future space activity with potentially significant economic consequences.
After USA President Obama signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act
in 2015 (Planetary, 2015), private space mining is legally allowed. Such mining activities have
great promise for addressing the future energy needs on Earth.
We posit that research in the new space economy can help determine the fate of
humanity in the future or, at least, benefit many other domains on Earth. However, it is
unclear how these developments in outer space will impact the IS profession and create new
research opportunities? To better understand IS’s role in the transactions involving outer
space activities, the following section explores several IS-related challenges in the space
economy.
3. IS-related challenges in space economy Space economy
We think that two types of IS challenges for the space economy merit IS researchers’ close and
attention. First, it may be common to believe that the space economy provides a different
context for IS-related issues. For example, a critical challenge for big data analytics in a
information
space economy is to deal with new types and new sources of data (LaValle et al., 2011). systems
Similar challenges have been observed in other contexts, such as digital commerce and the
business value of information technology (Kumar, 2004; Wang et al., 2012). Thus,
researchers addressing these challenges in a new space industry setting will benefit from 619
frameworks and applications developed for other IS contexts. However, distinct IS
challenges exist for the space economy, given many unique characteristics of the space
economy. These challenges stem not only from the harsh physical conditions in space, but
also from maintaining human mental health and social interaction under extreme
conditions (Gabriel et al., 2012).
The second category of space economy challenges for IS disciplines involves those
challenges that are unique to a space environment. Wooten and Tang (2018) identify four
unique challenges for the space industry to achieve successful operations: distance, gravity,
inhospitable environments and information. We next discuss these four dimensions from the
IS perspective, aiming to establish a basis for our later discussions of IS-related research
opportunities associated with the space economy.

3.1 Distance
One of the challenges is the great distance from Earth to outer space. For example, the low
Earth orbit is about 2,000 km away from the Earth’s surface, while the distance from Earth to
Mars is 54.6 million km. This raises an issue for the timeliness of data transformation. Unlike
the big data generated in real-time, there will be a time lag for the data generated in outer
space to reach Earth. For example, if an entity on Earth uses radio frequencies to transmit
data to a location on Mars, it would take between four and 24 min depending on the two
planets’ positions in their respective orbits (Ormston, 2012). Thus, the existing data analytics
methodologies may not be suitable due to the vast distances between points of interest in
outer space activities. Besides, the distance from Earth and the communication delays can
increase people’s autonomy in space, which can affect people’s emotions, motivation and
performance (Baarsen, 2013; Kanas et al., 2010). Gushin et al. (2012) study crew autonomy and
communication delays by simulating a space environment on Earth. Their results suggest
that increased autonomy can lead to confusion in the crew’s job roles, which increases
perceived job stress and unpleasant emotions. The delay in communication has left some
crew members very frustrated, especially when it comes to their contact with family and
friends. Thus, to help solve these problems, IS scholars may focus on the social support
systems and team information management systems.

3.2 Gravity
According to the theory of relativity, a mass object bends in the space-time around it. All
things will naturally move along the geodesic line (also called the “geoline”) and appear to
move closer together. In outer space, gravity is not the same as that on Earth. For example,
Mars has about one-third the gravity of Earth. Getting away from Earth’s gravity requires
speeds above 40,000 km per hour. Getting into Earth also needs the energy to fight against
gravity to land safely, and both processes are pretty resourced demanding (Leckie et al.,
2016). This challenge may cause different consumer perceptions and attitudes towards space-
related products or services. For the same products that are produced on Earth and in outer
space, consumers may have different perceptions about their qualities. Furthermore, for
space-unique products or services, such as space traveling, consumer altitudes and
IMDS expectations may be influenced (sometimes improperly) by their prior experience with similar
123,2 products/services on Earth (e.g. traveling on Earth).

3.3 Inhospitable environments

Just being in space comes with challenges that need to be addressed with technologies and
ingenuity. Air, water and food are three of the basic human needs. Such essential resources
620 are currently thought to be scarce in Earth’s celestial neighborhood. In addition, as limited by
human physiological states, such as visual, hearing, and tactile, many potential risks in outer
space cannot be predicted and detected in advance. Moreover, the extreme radiation levels in
outer space and the lack of gravity can cause many health problems (Wooten and Tang,
2018). In addition to physical health problems, people in isolated and restricted environments
can encounter team cooperation and mental health problems (Haney, 2003; Fegert et al., 2020).
Some emerging technologies such as virtual reality may help alleviate the psychological
problems caused by inhospitable environments (Wiederhold and Wiederhold, 2001). In our
opinion, this is a direction worthy of in-depth research by IS scholars in future.

3.4 Information
Our ability to collect, transmit and use information in space is growing but still quite limited.
In addition, outer space creates many information-related issues that are unique to the space
economy (Wooten, 2018). For example, the speed of light’s physical properties imposes
constraints on information conveyance. Communicating across the vast reaches of space and
figuring out ways to reliably transmit data between planets are challenging. At the same
time, the composition of people in space is often very diverse, so are their languages and
cultures. Many studies have found that team diversity will impact team outcomes (Horwitz
and Horwitz, 2007). For example, De la Torre et al. (2010) show that age, language and culture
have a very large influence on cognitive performance. Cognitive performance in turn affects
how people perform in space. Therefore, how to use related technologies such as artificial
intelligence (AI) language translation technology to improve the performance of a diverse
group of people in space is arguably an IS-related research topic.
Together, these four challenges highlight how different the space business environment is
compared to existing terrestrial settings. Consequently, as we will discuss below, there are
several promising research areas that our IS research communities may explore.

4. IS research opportunities for space economy

The challenges of space discussed above provide IS scholars with some research
opportunities. Following the argument of McKelvey et al. (2015) that new resources in
emerging markets change the global market, the quickly developing space industry may
yield significant impacts on a worldwide scale. Extending earlier research on space
exploration’s benefits to society (White, 2014), IS research related to the space business and
space-based data can deepen our understanding of the connections between space industry
and IS. From the aspects of the unique characteristics of the space industry, this section
presents some promising avenues, research opportunities, and implications for several
IS-related fields (digital commerce, data analytics, decision science, information sharing and
information security and new business models). Indeed, many opportunities are
interdisciplinary in scope, with overlaps occurring between IS and other disciplines.

4.1 Digital commerce

While digital commerce has penetrated everyone’s daily life for both individuals and
enterprises and has been an enduring topic in IS discipline (Benlian et al., 2012; Wu et al., 2019),
its relationship with the emerging space economy is not well understood. Digital commerce Space economy
enables marketplaces for sellers and buyers of the space-related products and services. As and
market dynamics and consumer behavior for these products/services may have distinct
features, space economy can generate quite a few research opportunities for IS and marketing
information
scholars. Wooten and Tang (2018) categorize products using a two-by-two Earth-space product systems
framework in which the origin and destination can be either Earth or space (Figure 1). The
Earth–Earth quadrant represents the current traded products in the market, while the other
three quadrants include a space interface. The novel idea of selling things that involve space as 621
the origin leads to some interesting digital commerce questions.
Based on the nature of the participants as business-to-business (B2B), it can be categorized
as business-to-customer (B2C), customer-to-business and customer-to-customer (Nemat,
2011). Regarding the unique characteristics of the space industry that needs huge
investments, we posit that its intersection with digital commerce mainly lies in B2B and B2C.
4.1.1 B2B digital commerce and space economy. There are two fundamental characteristics
of space: high vacuum and microgravity, which are crucial for specific industries on Earth,
such as the metallurgical industry (Konyukhov and Koroteev, 2007). Under such an
environment, high-quality metal products are much easier to be manufactured. For example,
as reported in October 2016, the uniformity of Al-Bi-Sn monotectic alloy samples
manufactured in space is far better than that of samples produced on Earth. Another
affected industry is the semiconductor industry. The characteristics of the space can alleviate
the limitation of gravity on Earth to improve the product quality of this industry. While the
benefits of the B2B space economy are apparent, many challenges exist. For example, given
the challenge of long-distance, transportation and control costs may be much more
significant than those on Earth. In addition, the cost of resupplying is very high. Common
estimates peg the cost of getting 0.5 km into orbit at US$10,000 (Kramer and Mosher, 2016).
Therefore, one possible research direction for IS scholars is to study whether B2B space
economy is beneficial, based on analyzing the tradeoffs between profits and costs for specific
products. Besides, the communication delay due to long distance will be fundamentally
different from that of the existing B2B e-commerce platforms. On Earth, when global buyers
and sellers transact through e-commerce platforms, the network delay is almost zero, while in
space the communication time may be as long as tens of minutes. Therefore, IS scholars need
to devote themselves to building new e-commerce service systems that can take the
significant delay into consideration.

Figure 1.
A framework of Earth-
space operations
IMDS In addition, besides directly selling finished goods that are manufactured in space to other
123,2 businesses, firms can also provide intangible services. For example, Made In Space (https://
madeinspace.us/) took the first step by installing a three-dimensional (3D) printer on the
International Space Station in 2014 and then furthered that technology leaps with a more
extensive, permanent additive manufacturing facility. It provides a spacious environment for
others who want to build things in space but are limited in their ability to deal with the huge
costs. Compared with traditional intangible services, intangible services provided in space
622 cannot to be supervised by someone on Earth in real time, which makes intangible services in
space more dependent on new technologies such as AI and blockchain. Thus, how new
technologies can better assist intangible services in space may be a promising research topic.
4.1.2 B2C digital commerce and space economy. One of the leading research topics in IS
discipline is customers’ shopping intention in digital commerce (Hsu et al., 2014; Jiang and
Benbasat, 2004). Alone this line of research, it is documented that the antecedents driving
shopping intention are often different for different product types (Keisidou et al., 2011; Su and
Huang, 2011). Given the unique characteristics of the space industry and the environment
where space-based products are produced, a comprehensive understanding of how
customers accept and purchase this new type of product can help firms in the space
industry gain competitive advantages. Specifically, what are the determinants of consumer
purchase intention of a space-based product?
In addition, some companies are providing intangible space services, such as space travel.
For example, the Russian Federal Space Agency served Dennis for an eight-day space
traveling in 2001, which cost him about US$20m and made him the first human to travel in the
area. More recently, with the development of new technologies and reduced costs, customers
can spend about US$100,000 to enjoy a space trip (Freeman, 2018). However, such service
differs from those traveling on Earth, often involving significant risk and uncertainty. While
prior studies emphasize the importance of perceived product risks in online shopping
(Amirtha et al., 2021), many new risks (such as loss of lives) may emerge in space traveling
due to the challenge of inhospitable environments. How these unknown risks influence
customers’ purchasing intention should be an exciting and crucial question for promoting
digital commerce in-space economy.
4.1.3 Product delivery in digital commerce and space economy. The challenge of long-
distance may significantly influence the supply chain performance of e-commerce in the
space economy. Given the significant logistic distance between Earth and space, delivering
products timely and reliably becomes quite challenging. While existing e-commerce studies
in IS mainly focus on last-mile delivery in e-commerce (Briggs et al., 2015; Vakulenko et al.,
2018), we argue that it is more important to investigate the first-mile delivery space business.
IS scholars could collaborate with operations management researchers to explore how to
reduce lead time and coordinate and share knowledge across supply chains in the space
economy.
The transportation and delivery costs are another crucial concern for digital commerce in
space economy. For instance, founded in 2002, SpaceX established the goal of reducing space
transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. To achieve this goal, SpaceX
needs to develop mechanisms for delivering heavy payloads into outer space (they have
recently succeeded in testing their Falcon Heavy rockets). For example, dealing with the
challenge of information conveyance far from Earth presents opportunities to develop new
procedures and mechanisms. Operations management and IS researchers can develop
models focusing on managing uncertainty and risk associated with e-commerce in space
economy.
4.1.4 Rural digital commerce. The emergence of the space economy provides IS scholars
with a new target: rural digital commerce. Leong et al. (2016) took the initial steps to assess the
capability of digital marketing to empower a marginalized community with a rural digital
commerce ecosystem that can aid self-development. With several space-based Space economy
telecommunication solutions that can serve rural areas at very reasonable costs (Scatteia and
et al., 2020), IS researchers can provide guidance and insights on how space-based data
services influence the development of rural digital commerce. As a critical goal of rural digital
information
marketing is to use the internet to promote the economy of the countryside, how rural digital systems
business can develop sustainably with the help of space-based data is another interesting IS
research question.
Previous IS research on digital commerce focus on issues like online experience, delivery 623
and pricing. However, the unique challenges of digital marketing in the space economy
require IS researchers to reexamine many of these issues to gain new business insights.

4.2 Data analytics leveraging space-based data

The new type of data could provide both academics and practitioners with new insights. For
example, big data has profoundly changed IS research (Grover et al., 2018; Kitchens et al.,
2018). Similarly, we posit that the space-based data could also reshape many areas of IS
research. Space-based data includes valuable data of inhospitable locations in outer space,
allowing analysts to conquer the traditional distance limitations. In addition, space-based
data provides us with information about numerous remote areas that are not easily accessible
on Earth. Therefore, how we could utilize this new source of data should be an essential
question.
We posit that new types of data generated from the space industry could be used to better
understand our lives on Earth and better manage business logistics. We can categorize the
data provided by the space industry into two types based on its origin: data generated in
space and data generated on Earth. As an example of data generated in space, valuable data
have been developed during tracking satellites and space debris (all the junk that orbits the
planet – traveling at speeds up to 28,000 km per hour). More than 500,000 pieces are being
tracked (more than 20,000 of which are larger than a softball), and the International Space
Station is navigating the space facing these deadly threats (Scudder, 2016). Utilizing this type
of space data, researchers can develop predictive models that minimize the chance of in-space
collisions.
Based on imaging satellites, the space industry can provide a new source of data about the
Earth that is hard to obtain using other existing technologies. For instance, the existing
geographic IS mainly focus on geographic information on the mainland, leaving the oceans,
which occupy around 70% of Earth, behind due to the limited capabilities to explore them.
With the growing number of satellites in space, scientists can better understand Earth,
especially the oceans, by relying on the data and information provided by constellations of
satellites. The supply chain management literature has already called for research to explore
how to coordinate supply chain networks involving space commerce. Therefore, IS scholars
are strongly suggested to advance existing research on geographic IS, focusing on gaining
business intelligence by analyzing satellite data generated on Earth.
Speed of information is essential for global intelligence and commerce. One of the
advantages of space data is that data can often be captured on a real-time basis. Moreover,
space data usually contains valuable information that could not be obtained by technologies
on Earth. For example, there are many meteorological satellites that receive and measure
visible light, infrared and microwave radiation of the Earth and its atmosphere, as well as
electromagnetic waves reflected by satellite navigation systems. Then, these data are
transferred to station and used to predict real-time weather conditions. By combining the data
and images collected through our Earth observation constellations, satellites, Inter-of-Things
(IoT), hyper local platforms and third-party sources, companies can obtain data-driven
results faster than others. In today’s competitive environment, moving a few minutes before
IMDS others can lead to sizable first-mover advantages, especially in situations where firms need to
123,2 make rapid and informed strategic decisions. Therefore, IS scholars are suggested to study
how to combine space data with other source of data to improve the speed and quality of
organizational decision-making.

4.3 Information security

624 While there are many potential benefits of leveraging space data, serious efforts are needed to
address information security in the space economy. Cybersecurity refers to collecting tools,
policies, security concepts, risk management approaches and technologies protecting the
cyber environment and organizations (Veale and Brown, 2020). It is one of the leading
research areas of IS discipline (e.g. Benaroch, 2018; Liu et al., 2020; Yoo et al., 2020). Space
information security can be understood similarly. However, the protection of activities and
assets in space should be emphasized as a critical objective. First, information is sent from
Earth to satellites and other space-based assets (Earth-space interactions.) Second, data are
sent back to Earth from satellites and other space-based assets (space-Earth exchanges.) The
information flows are often vulnerable to threats. The security of space-based infrastructure
depends on the safety of Earth-space interactions. In addition, the security of systems relying
on data from space depends upon the safety of space-Earth interactions. For example, Earth-
based attackers could give false information to a satellite to force it to collide with another.
Therefore, how to minimize the possibilities of such events is a crucial information security
problem for the space economy.
The privacy of space-based data is another information security issue, i.e. how to
supervise and regulate the use of space-based data. This issue is always susceptible, with
significant conceptual, legal and technological implications. Its significance should not be
underestimated in the context of using space-based data. For both companies and individuals
involved in the space economy, privacy is an overarching concern with a wide range of
implications for data acquisition, storage, retention, use and presentation. With the
increasing participation of private firms in the space economy, IS scholars should study how
information security tools and policies need to adapt to this emerging industry’s quickly
changing business landscape.
Another information security issue, indirectly related to the previous one, is the access and
sharing of space-based information. Private companies and other institutions are usually
reluctant to share data about their clients, users and operations (Liu and Serfes, 2006;
Premazzi et al., 2010). Obstacles may include legal or reputational considerations, the need to
protect their competitiveness, a culture of secrecy and, more broadly, the absence of the right
incentive and information structures. There are also institutional and technical challenges. In
some cases, data are stored in places and ways that make it difficult to access and transfer.
As space-based data increase their importance, some legal issues may arise. The same
piece of data can often be used simultaneously by many parties. Thus, the intellectual
property rights attached to space data will have to be properly managed. Furthermore, when
using space data have geopolitical implications, new information security regulations and
policies are warranted to safeguard national interests. Consequently, another important
research direction is to analyze various scenarios of space information usage, focusing on the
tradeoff between minimizing geopolitical risk and maximizing the commercial value of space-
based data.

5. Discussions and conclusion

With the development of technologies such as the internet and blockchain, IS scholars have
continuously investigated how these disruptive technologies impact other disciplines, such
as healthcare, marketing, organizational behavior and strategy. One idea to increase the Space economy
influence of IS discipline is to apply IS tools and knowledge to the most current business and
issues and markets. With the rapid development of the space economy, private enterprises
are playing an increasingly more significant role, gradually changing the landscape of an
information
research and development (R&D)-intensive industry that has been traditionally dominated systems
by public space agencies (Wooten and Tang, 2018). Our article timely introduces IS scholars
to the unique challenges and new opportunities brought by the space economy. While our
discussions of potential research opportunities focus on three key IS areas (digital commerce, 625
data analytics and information security), there are undoubtedly many other IS research
opportunities beyond these areas. Moreover, given other discipline’s interest in the space
economy (e.g. Alewine, 2020), interdisciplinary research collaboration will likely become more
frequent.
In addition to increasing the influence of IS discipline, there is another significant benefit
for IS researchers to study emerging industries like the space economy. In many cases,
exploring new markets and disruptive technologies can enhance our understanding of
existing IS issues. For example, IS researchers’ recent efforts to study the sharing economy
have yielded many fresh insights into traditional IS issue such as digital platforms, trust in
technologies and network externalities (Shao et al., 2019, 2020; Guo et al., 2018, 2019).
Similarly, studying the space economy will deepen our understanding of many IS issues
that have long been investigated in the extant literature. Since empirical regularities
identified by previous IS studies are sometimes situational in nature (e.g. Zhang et al., 2022),
a theoretical implication of our study is that, by revisiting IS issues (both behavioral and
technical) within the context of space economy, many fresh insights into established IS
theories may emerge.
It is worth noting that the characteristics of the space economy can help create a unique
environment for practice oriented IS research. For example, the absence of real-time
supervision in space away from the Earth will provide an ideal unmanned environment to
study the practical implications of AI systems and blockchain technology for digital
commerce and information security. Moreover, studying the competitive dynamics in the
emerging space economy could yield practical implications for managing IT compatibility
and competition. Thanks to the recent boom of Special Purpose Acquisition Company
(SPAC), several small satellite companies such as Blacksky Global have secured enough
funding to challenge Maxar, the dominant player in geospatial data and intelligence. While
Maxar’s new generation of imaging satellites is considered more capable, BlackSky’s
satellite solutions are more cost-effective (both their satellites and AI-based data analytics
solutions are currently incompatible). Previous IS studies have shown that business
strategies are meaningfully influenced by technology incompatibility and growth
optionality (Kauffman and Li, 2005; Li, 2014; Li et al., 2014). Given the significant growth
potential of the space economy, business practitioners and industry regulators can benefit
from future IS research on how to better manage IT compatibility and competition in this
emerging industry.

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Corresponding author
Xiaotong Li can be contacted at: lixi@uah.edu

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