Business analytics

About: Business analytics is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3593 publications have been published within this topic receiving 84601 citations. The topic is also known as: Business Analytics & business analytics.

A path model linking business analytics, data-driven culture, and competitive advantage

Abstract: Business analytics (BA) has become increasingly important for companies to gain valuable insights from big data and ultimately competitive advantage. However, little empirical evidence exists regarding the mechanisms through which BA impacts on competitive advantage. In light of this paucity, this paper aims to advance our understanding of the impact of BA on competitive advantage. First, this paper provides a BA classification. Second, drawing on contingency theory and the resource-based view, it develops a research model that specifies the paths from BA to competitive advantage. Third, it empirically tests the proposed model using structural equation modelling, offering valuable insights into how different types of BA impact on competitive advantage. Fourth, it systematically tests how resource value, rarity and inimitability impact on competitive advantage. The findings demonstrate that BA, through the mediation of a data-driven culture, positively impacts on information processing capabilities, which in turn have a positive effect on competitive advantage. The findings also demonstrate that resource value, rarity and inimitability partially but strongly mediate the impact of information processing capabilities on competitive advantage. Finally, the paper contributes to managers’ knowledge by demonstrating how different types of BA should be implemented to develop information processing capabilities and gain competitive advantage.

Team Machine: A Decision Support System for Team Formation

Abstract: This paper reports on the cross-disciplinary research that resulted in a decision-support tool, Team Machine (TM), which was designed to create maximally diverse student teams. TM was used at a large United States university between 2004 and 2012, and resulted in significant improvement in the performance of student teams, superior overall balance of the teams as well as overwhelmingly favorable reactions from stakeholders. An empirical study is conducted comparing the performance of teams created by TM compared to teams manually allocated by a subject matter expert. The findings show that optimally balanced teams perform better than those created manually. TM serves as a broad-based example of how to integrate business analytics into interactive search by conflating human judgment with algorithmic efficiency in the context of team formation. The contribution of this research to the academic community is a model and solution method which can be easily implemented to solve a very important and recurring issue faced by many MBA programs and empirical evidence of its value. The outcomes of this study include empirical evidence of increased team performance, significant administrative time savings, improvement to team diversity, and increased satisfaction from students and administrators with the team formation process.

The Benefits of Business Planning in Early Stage Small Enterprises

Abstract: This article reports on the results of an empirical study into the nature and role of business planning within the new venture. In order to explore the benefits of business planning and compare the experiences of surviving versus failed businesses, the researchers analyzed 327 micro-enterprises that had been launched during the 1997–1999 period. There was no direct association between early stage planning and survival/failure during the company’s first three years. While the learning and efficiency benefits of the business plan were quite high, these benefits were not found to be directly associated with survival or failure. The business plan’s impact, both in terms of helping the entrepreneur learn more about managing his/her business and enabling him/her to organize the business more efficiently was significantly higherwhen the plan (i) incorporated a market research component or (ii) had been prepared with the intent of being used to guide decision-making.

The Challenges of Business Analytics: Successes and Failures

Abstract: The successful use of business analytics is an important element of a company’s success. Business analytics enables analysts and managers to engage in an IT-driven sense-making process in which they use the data and analysis as a means to understand the phenomena that the data represent”. Not all organizations apply business analytics successfully to decision making. When used correctly, the actionable intelligence gained from a business analytics program can be utilized to improve strategic decision making. Conversely, an organization that does not utilize business analytics information appropriately will not experience optimal decision making; failing to realize the full potential of a data analytics program. This paper examines some organizations that implemented data analytics programs; both successfully and unsuccessfully, and discuss the implications for each organization. Based on the lesson learned, we present ways to implement a successful business analytics program.