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Over the past few years, developments in business analytics have provided strategic planners with promising instruments for dealing with turbulent environments. This study aims to reveal whether or not the application of business analytics in strategic planning contributes to better company performance, and to formulate recommendations on how to integrate business analytics in companies' performance management systems.

Based on a survey conducted with 89 respondents from high‐technology firms, a group comparison between firms with strong performance and those with weak performance reveals significant differences between the two groups' strategic planning processes and application of business analytics.

The empirical survey's results show that better‐performing companies are characterized by a more sophisticated analytical planning process. Lower‐performing firms acknowledge this competitive advantage. Based on these findings, the authors develop recommendations on how to integrate business analytics in performance management contexts.

The empirical study's results are limited to high‐technology industries in the cultural setting of Germany.

The empirical results emphasize the competitive advantage gained by applying business analytics. The recommendations concerning analytical performance management should help managers to sensibly integrate the analytical toolbox in performance management contexts.

This paper combines insights on the best usage of business analytics from the perspective of strategic planning experts, with recommendations for the integration of business analytics into the performance management framework from an academic perspective.

Increased business competition requires even more rapid and sophisticated information and data analysis. These requirements challenge performance management to effectively support the decision making process. Business analytics is an emerging field that can potentially extend the domain of performance management to provide an improved understanding of business dynamics and lead to a better decision making. The purpose of this positional paper is to introduce performance management analytics as a potential extension of performance management research and practice. The paper clarifies the possible application areas of business analytics and their advantages within the context of performance management.

The paper employs a literature based analysis and from this a conceptual argument is established. Finally, a business analytical model is presented to be used to undertake future research.

The paper clarifies the possible application areas of business analytics and their advantages within the context of organizational performance management.

The main implication is that the paper provides evidence of the use of business analytics for understanding organizational performance. Several insights are provided for management accounting research and education.