The Effects of Big Data Analytics Capability on Strategic Business Value in China

Abstract

In order to separate themselves from their rivals, firms are turning to big data analytics as a strategy. As a result, recent years have seen an increase in investment. Earlier industry studies show that the results for BDA-adopting firms vary. Recent studies show that firms that invest in big data analytics (BDA) lack sufficient knowledge of building big data analytics capabilities (BDAC). Though BDAC studies are still scarce, some earlier attempts at literature on big data analytics capability (BDAC) explored the impact of BDAC on firm performance. However, knowledge of mechanisms for BDAC to improve strategic business value is very limited. For this purpose, this research uses the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability view (DCV) as its theoretical foundations. This study explores how different BDA capabilities impact strategic business value through the mediation of BDA value-creating mechanisms. The findings of the study offer new insights for both BDA practitioners and IS academics. First, this study extended DCV in the new context of the strategic business value of BDAC. Second, this study differs from previous studies in that it introduces a novel model that investigates the value creation mechanisms in the relationship between BDAC and strategic business value that make an important contribution to the literature in BDAC, to the parent disciplines of IT capability and value, as well as to the broader field of information systems (IS). Third, the research confirmed that the BDA talent capability mediates the relationships between other BDA capabilities (technology, management) in the value creation paths. These findings may help to improve our knowledge of the interaction effect of BDAC, which has received less attention in previous research. The primary managerial contribution of this study is that BDA-adopting firms can build successful strategies centred on the development of value creation mechanisms to achieve higher levels of strategic business value. Second, the insights could also be particularly useful for firms interested in adopting BDA strategies in China. Third, as a self-diagnostic framework, the research model provides BDA consultants and practitioners with a thorough theoretical framework. Finally, this research contributes to a better understanding of the interplay between BDA talent capability and other BDACs along BDAC value creation channels, which is useful for firms when they are building better BDACs for strategic value. The present study has several limitations, just as in earlier investigations. First, the capability model described in this study may not be sufficient in the future to describe all resources for BDA capability building as BDA technologies advance. As a result, it must be examined on a regular basis. Second, the study only focused on Chinese BDA-adopting firms. The generalizability of the findings to other countries will therefore require additional validation. Third, this study relied heavily on cross-sectional data to maximise cost efficiency and ease of operation. Future studies are suggested to explore the long-term impacts of a BDAC.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Nikolay Mehandjiev (Supervisor)