Does surveillance capitalism trigger the financial performance of information technology firms? A reflection from FAANG business models

• Published in: Digital finance 2024, Vol.6 (1), p.179-201
• Main Authors: Biju, Ajithakumari Vijayappan Nair, Aparna, A. S., Treesa, Jency, Nikhil, N. K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Banking; Business Finance; Economics and Finance; Finance; Macroeconomics/Monetary Economics//Financial Economics; Original Article
• ISSN: 2524-6984; 2524-6186
• DOI: 10.1007/s42521-024-00109-0

This paper maps the idea of surveillance capitalism of FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google), which have capitalized on the behavioral surplus accumulated in their databases and how they utilize these data for future business models and its impact on revenues. The fundamental research question that drives this paper is how the data-driven models trigger these companies’ future financial performance and ensure sustainable growth. A mixed-method approach was employed to examine the effect of surveillance capitalism through multiple lenses by combining quantitative and qualitative data. The relative valuation models were used to substantiate the exponential growth of FAANG firms. Financial valuation indicators like EPS, ROE, Market capitalization, and ROA were used to capture the growth of FAANG. Our undertaking shows that FAANG earns substantial revenue through data-driven business models that catalyze the present companies’ growth. This article can be seen as a novel attempt, as it is the first attempt to empirically prove that FAANG has grown faster due to the power of surveillance capitalism.