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A novel mechanism for business analytics value creation: improvement of knowledge-intensive business processes

Olivera Marjanovic (School of Professional Practice and Leadership, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia)

Journal of Knowledge Management

ISSN: 1367-3270

Article publication date: 3 June 2021

Issue publication date: 6 January 2022

1262

Abstract

Purpose

This paper focuses on the “how” of business analytics (BA) value creation, which remains an open research problem and a practical challenge. The main purpose of this paper is to propose a novel BA value creation mechanism that is BA-enabled improvement of Knowledge-intensive Business Processes (KIBPs), with experiential knowledge of decision makers as the key to a more sustainable BA-enabled competitive differentiation.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a qualitative research case study, conducted in a large retail distribution company. The research insights were observed through a combined lens of work systems theory and the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm, using an interpretive approach.

Findings

The proposed theoretical model identifies three stages of KIBP improvement through BA and explains how they lead to a sustainable BA-enabled competitive differentiation. Stage 1 focusses on BA support for individual knowledge-intensive tasks, Stage 2 focusses on individual decision makers and their ability to gain KIBP-related analytical insights and turn them into action; and Stage 3 on sharing of the acquired experiential knowledge amongst decision makers using BA.

Originality/value

In addition to proposing a novel mechanism for BA value creation, this research demonstrates the importance of leveraging experiential knowledge of decision makers as a pathway to a more sustainable competitive differentiation through BA. This, in turn, creates new opportunities for knowledge management researchers to engage in BA-related research. It also opens a new approach for BA researchers to investigate BA value creation mechanisms through the lens of KBV, rather than more common resource-based or capability-based views.

Keywords

Citation

Marjanovic, O. (2022), "A novel mechanism for business analytics value creation: improvement of knowledge-intensive business processes", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 17-44. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-09-2020-0669

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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