The O-Factor: Aligning Organizational Arrangements with Big Data Analytics Diffusion

Abstract

This study aims to better understand how and why organizational arrangements of Big Data Analytics (BDA) evolve over time in established firms. As BDA initiatives grow in scope and importance, organizational arrangements tend to change, with changes impacting the success of the initiative. This study focuses on the importance of four constructs influencing organizational arrangements during BDA diffusion: the analytics structure, the leadership role, the culture, and the employee skills. Propositions derived from the literature guide the analysis of seven case studies of organizations adopting BDA. The findings help to understand BDA diffusion through (1) aligning structure with business value creation, (2) (new) leadership that trusts and shows exemplary usage of BDA, (3) a culture of trust with constant experimentation for business opportunities and (4) more diversified employee roles. A discussion of academic and managerial implications and suggestions for future research completes this study.