Table of Content

1. Introduction to LinkedIn.......................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Domiciliary & Global Presence........................................................................................... 3

1.2 Key Milestones & Evolution............................................................................................... 4

1.2.1 Early Growth...............................................................................................................4

1.2.2 Acquisition..................................................................................................................5

1.2.3 Post-Acquisition..........................................................................................................5

1.3 Ownership & Business Model............................................................................................. 5

2. Aim & Objective........................................................................................................................ 6

3. Data as a Core Asset.................................................................................................................. 6

3.1 Measurable Monetary Value of Data Assets........................................................................6

3.2 Non-Measurable Monetary Value of Data Assets................................................................7

4. Creating Value from Data......................................................................................................... 8

4.1 Innovation............................................................................................................................ 8

4.2 Integration............................................................................................................................ 9

4.3 Strategy................................................................................................................................ 9

5. Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 10

References..................................................................................................................................... 11
1. Introduction to LinkedIn

LinkedIn was first erected in 2002 in the living room of co-founder Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn,

2024). In the spring of 2003, the company blossomed out into the world (LinkedIn, 2024).

Today, LinkedIn is globally recognised as a social networking platform crafted for professionals

and is one of the largest professional platforms in the world (LinkedIn, 2024). It operates within

the digital professional networking and recruitment sector. LinkedIn’s unique selling proposition

is its focus on business networking rather than casual interactions. Its industry competitors

include platforms like Indeed and Glassdoor; however, LinkedIn’s extensive business tools make

it a leading platform within the sector.

1.1 Domiciliary & Global Presence

LinkedIn is headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley—Sunnyvale, California. The social

platform has a vast global presence, operating in over 38 cities with 1 billion members in 200

countries and territories worldwide (LinkedIn, 2024). LinkedIn’s global presence aligns with its

mission of connecting professionals around the world (LinkedIn, 2024).

LinkedIn’s Global Membership

Note. This graphic represents the total number of LinkedIn users in different countries and

regions, with over 323 million users in the Asia-Pacific region.

1.2 Key Milestones & Evolution

1.2.1 Early Growth

●​ In 2006, the platform had accumulated over 20 million users (Burt, 2023).

●​ In 2011, LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock

Exchange, becoming the first major U.S. social network to launch an IPO (LinkedIn

Corporate Communications, 2011).

●​ LinkedIn acquired Bizo in 2014, transforming the platform to provide additional

advertisement targeting technology such as advanced audience segmentation and

precision targeting (Burt, 2023).

●​ In 2016, the platform was acquired by one of the Tech Titans—Microsoft—for $26.2

billion (Microsoft News Center, 2016).

1.2.3 Post-Acquisition

●​ In 2021, LinkedIn hit $10 billion in revenue following features like LinkedIn Learning

and AI-powered career development and advertising tools (LinkedIn, 2024).

●​ In 2022, LinkedIn acquired Oribi, a marketing analytics company, and opened its first

Israel location (LinkedIn Corporate Communications, 2022).

1.3 Ownership & Business Model

Microsoft owns LinkedIn; however, it is managed as a subsidiary, maintaining its own brand and

operational autonomy (LinkedIn, 2024). Today, the platform is under the leadership and direction

of Ryan Roslansky. LinkedIn utilises a “freemium” business model (Shah, 2024). First coined by

Jarid Lukin of Alacra in 2006, “freemium” is derived from conjoining “free” and “premium”.

LinkedIn uses the freemium model by offering basic features for free while charging a premium

price for its advanced features. The platform makes money through premium subscriptions,

recruitment solutions, advertising, and learning solutions (Shah, 2024).

Data has emerged as a powerful intangible asset that companies can measure, control, and

evaluate to drive success and performance (Bodendorf & Franke, 2024). Contrastive to tangible

assets, intangible assets are subjected to inherent uncertainties and valuation complexities due to

their non-physical nature (Andriessen, 2004). This paper aims to evaluate LinkedIn’s data as a

core asset by examining its tangible and intangible contributions to monetary value and

exploring how LinkedIn creates value from its data through innovation, integration, and digital

strategy (Atrill & McLaney, 2010). This paper will investigate LinkedIn’s data-driven

approaches to highlight how the organisation generates and sustains value in the digital economy.

3. Data as a Core Asset

Data plays a fundamental role in LinkedIn’s business model, providing insights that fuel its

recruitment, learning, and advertising services. LinkedIn’s data includes extensive user

information from its one billion members, such as education, professional background, skills,

and interests. It is then used as a valuable resource for delivering targeted services (LinkedIn,

2024). This data aligns with the theory that data-driven decision-making increases efficiency,

innovation, and competitiveness by transforming raw data into strategic actions (Sarioguz &

Miser, 2023).

3.1 Measurable Monetary Value of Data Assets

In terms of tangible monetary assets, LinkedIn’s physical assets include computer equipment and

data storage infrastructure to effectively utilise and manage the company’s vast user data. These

tangible assets allow LinkedIn to maintain its “Big Data” and provide valuable information for
its services, such as LinkedIn recruiting and advertising solutions. For example, LinkedIn’s

recruiting solutions illustrate its data-centred approach, as recruiters can filter for their ideal

candidates based on skills and engagement history (LinkedIn Hire, 2024). Additionally,

LinkedIn’s advertising solutions, Campaign Manager, capitalise on user data by allowing

marketers to target advertisements based on professional profile information (e.g., job titles,

company, company size, and years of experience). The monetary value of LinkedIn’s data can be

inferred through its revenue from the aforementioned services. In the 2023 fiscal year, LinkedIn,

managed under Microsoft, generated over $15 billion in revenue (LinkedIn Corporate

Communications, 2023). This revenue highlights LinkedIn data’s monetary contribution through

tangible assets supporting data acquisition and management.

3.2 Non-Measurable Monetary Value of Data Assets

Beyond revenue, LinkedIn’s data holds significant non-measurable monetary value for the

platform by shaping the company’s reputation and customer relationships. Recognised as a

Professional Network Giant, LinkedIn has a reputation for being a reliable and trustworthy

professional platform because of the high quality and relevance of its data. By providing accurate

job matches and relevant networking opportunities, LinkedIn builds trust and loyalty among its

users. Brand reliability is a critical non-measurable monetary asset that draws users to LinkedIn

as it is the ability of a brand name to be closely attached to an offering, reducing the risk of

consumers purchasing from other brands (Setiawan & Patricia, 2022). Furthermore, this data

allows LinkedIn to create meaningful relationships with its customers and user base. For

example, recruiters can rely on LinkedIn’s dataset for candidate selections, and advertisers can

use it to target niche professional audiences.

4.1 Innovation

Data yield information, which, when contextualised, transforms into knowledge that drives

innovation (Liew, 2007). With data being the pathway to innovation, it is essential to classify

LinkedIn's critical data assets to assess how the platform creates value from its current data

through innovation. Using Snyder’s (2022) data balance sheet template, LinkedIn’s data falls

within the “easy-to-access data asset” quadrant, following the FAIR principle—Findable,

Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

The “easy-to-access data asset” quadrant provides opportunities for continuous innovation

through predictive maintenance and website personalisation (Snyder, 2022). LinkedIn creates

value from data using AI and machine learning innovation to enable the platform to improve

personalised recommendations, job matching, and user content relevance. The company uses its

data assets to create a machine learning predictive analytics model that helps organisations target

their marketing audience by specific work sectors, skill sets, and seniority levels. LinkedIn

applies AI to organise and analyse substantial data on its member’s behaviour and engagement

history to enhance users’ feed algorithms. In 2024, the company announced new AI-generated

insights that would appear on premium user’s new feeds (Britannica, T. Editors of

Encyclopaedia, 2024).
4.2 Integration

LinkedIn’s acquisition opened new avenues for integrating with Microsoft’s resources to enhance

its value proposition. For example, Microsoft Word’s Resume Assistant leverages LinkedIn’s

data to deliver real-time career insights, allowing users to refine resumes based on current

industry standards and peers’ profiles (Levy, 2017). Integration with Microsoft’s cloud solutions

like Dynamics and Office 365 enhances LinkedIn’s data security, processing, and storage

capabilities. This integration demonstrates the value of combining existing capabilities across

both companies, which aligns with the dynamic capability theory (Teece, 2018).

4.3 Strategy

LinkedIn’s digital strategy leverages data to create value by driving user engagement and

platform integration. The networking platform adds value for users within familiar productivity

environments by integrating with Microsoft tools, as mentioned in section 4.2. This increased

LinkedIn’s appeal and accessibility as a professional development tool, sustaining steady user

growth (Figure 2) and engagement (Milkova, 2022). AI-powered personalisation and predictive

analytics are crucial in LinkedIn’s strategy (Hilgers, 2024). Algorithms analyse user activity and

profile data to provide job suggestions, skill-building courses, and networking recommendations

that are highly relevant to each user (Hilgers, 2024). LinkedIn’s digital strategies effectively

create value from its data by driving engagement, growth, and profitability.
Figure 2

Number of LinkedIn Users 2009-2022

(Business of Apps, 2023)

5. Conclusion

In summary, this paper evaluated LinkedIn’s data as a core asset by identifying and analysing

both its measurable and non-measurable contributions to the company. The tangible aspects

include physical infrastructure such as computer equipment and data storage, which enable

LinkedIn to process and manage “Big Data” productively. Meanwhile, the intangible value of

LinkedIn’s data lies in its role in enhancing brand reputation and fostering customer loyalty,

reliability, and trust.

This analysis further examined how LinkedIn leverages data through innovation, integration with

Microsoft software, and strategic digital personalisation to create value for the organisation.

Overall, these data-driven approaches demonstrate LinkedIn’s effective use of data as a resource

and asset that drives engagement, builds brand equity and increases profitability in the digital

economy.
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