Semantic Integration Approach to Efficient Business Data Supply Chain: Integration Approach to Inter-Operable XBRL

10 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2007

See all articles by Hongwei (Harry) Zhu

Hongwei (Harry) Zhu

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Stuart Madnick

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management

Date Written: December 2007

Abstract

As an open standard for electronic communication of business and financial data, XBRL has the potential of improving the efficiency of the business data supply chain. A number of jurisdictions have developed different XBRL taxonomies as their data standards. Semantic heterogeneity exists in these taxonomies, the corresponding instances, and the internal systems that store the original data. Consequently, there are still substantial difficulties in creating and using XBRL instances that involve multiple taxonomies. To fully realize the potential benefits of XBRL, we have to develop technologies to reconcile semantic heterogeneity and enable interoperability of various parts of the supply chain. In this paper, we analyze the XBRL standard and use examples of different taxonomies to illustrate the interoperability challenge. We also propose a technical solution that incorporates schema matching and context mediation techniques to improve the efficiency of the production and consumption of XBRL data.

Keywords: XBRL, semantic data integration, context mediation, ontology, schema matching

JEL Classification: M41, M45, K22

Suggested Citation

Zhu, Hongwei and Madnick, Stuart E., Semantic Integration Approach to Efficient Business Data Supply Chain: Integration Approach to Inter-Operable XBRL (December 2007). MIT Sloan School of Management Research Paper Series, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1075711 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1075711

Hongwei Zhu (Contact Author)

University of Massachusetts Lowell ( email )

One University Avenue
Lowell, MA 01854
United States

Stuart E. Madnick

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management ( email )

E53-321
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States
617-253-6671 (Phone)
617-253-3321 (Fax)

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