Improving Decision Making Through the Use of BI&A and a Data-Driven Culture

Abstract

Background and problem: Today, businesses act in an increasingly complex environment, that requires organizations to be more adaptive. This increases the value of data analytics and decision support systems such as Business Intelligence & Analytics (BI&A) for decision makers and enables them to make better and quicker decisions. At the same time, there is a lack of understanding of the data-driven cultures that support the use of BI&A and BI&A in relation to the decision process itself. Research aim: To expand the understanding of organizational decision making under the presence of BI&A. Research questions: “How can a data-driven culture support the use of Business Intelligence & Analytics?” and “How does the use of Business Intelligence & Analytics, facilitated by a data-driven culture, support the decision process?”. Research design: The research questions were studied using an exploratory approach with semi-structured interviews. Three Swedish organizations active in the logistics sector were interviewed as well as an external BI consultant. Through this approach, detailed information on how BI&A and data-driven cultures affect decision making were collected from the different organizations and was complemented with general knowledge on the topic from the BI consultant. Discussion and conclusion: The findings suggest that the influence of BI&A supports decision making, whereas the extent and type of support depend on the organisational level of the decision. Further, the findings highlight the importance of a data-driven culture, which supports the use of BI&A by facilitating data-driven decision making. Similar to prior research, a data-driven culture is found to be built on a set of enabling factors, although some new aspects are identified.