Description
Business intelligence as an enabler of organizational agility
1
Business intelligence as an enabler of organizational agility
Jean-Pierre Kuilboer, Hanne Russ, Noushin Ashrafi
University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, United States
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In a competitive business worl, the abilit! to etect an eal with chan"e is a re#uirement for
survival$ A"ilit! an business intelli"ence are instrumental to unerstanin" the intricacies of mar%et
chan"es an facilitatin" the eliver! of a faster an better response$ &e focus on these two
phenomena an ar"ue that while or"ani'ational a"ilit! is critical for survival in the current volatile
business environment, business Intelli"ence solutions have the potential to be enablers for achievin"
a"ilit!$ &e establish a lin% between business intelli"ence an a"ilit! an show how business
intelli"ence capabilities can help achieve a"ilit! at operational, portfolio, an strate"ic levels$
Keywords: (usiness Intelli"ence, A"ilit!
Introduction
(usiness environment is e)periencin" an unpreceente volatilit! an oin" business in this
environment is becomin" increasin"l! challen"in"$ *ar%ets, competition, customer emans, an
technolo"! are chan"in" at a rapi pace$ Niche mar%ets "row because customers see% customi'ation
an switchin" costs are low$ Innovation is happenin" at an acceleratin" rate as prouct lifec!cles
ecrease$ +ast chan"in" mar%ets, pressure from increasin" costs, international competitiveness,
Internet usa"e an a short evelopment time for new proucts all contribute to uncertaint! an
intense competition ,-sen" et al, ./001$ 2r"ani'ations strive for "ainin" better, faster, an more
complete insi"ht into ever chan"in" mar%et emans an appl!in" that insi"ht to unerstanin" the
chan"in" environment$
Pricewaterhouse3oopers calle the perio from 0445 to .//5 60/ !ears of hi"h-spee chan"e
characteri'e b! unsettlin" twists an turns7 ,8ull, .//41$ In these unpreictable an unstable times,
companies nee certain capabilities for sustainabilit! an survival$ -he! nee foresi"ht an
responsiveness$ (usiness a"ilit! is a relativel! new parai"m consiere as a solution formaintainin"
competitive avanta"e urin" times of uncertaint! an turbulence in the business environment
,*athiassen et al$, .//51$ -o achieve a"ilit!, or"ani'ations nee to be able to sense an respon to
preictable an unpreictable events$ -hus, a"ilit! re#uires or"ani'ations to buil up economies of
scope in orer to effectivel! respon to chan"in" environment an to be prouctive at the same time
,*elar%oe et al$ .//9: Horne! et al$ ./0/1$ E)ecutives have alrea! reco"ni'e the importance of
a"ilit! to business success an are pursuin" instruments to implement the concept$ 2ne instrument
that has a hi"h potential of becomin" the ma;or enabler of a"ilit! in or"ani'ations is business
intelli"ence$ +ast anal!sis, rapi eplo!ment, an real-time monitorin" of events via portals an
ashboars base on truste, accurate information are features of holistic (I solutions that coul
ma%e a"ilit! achievable ,Henschen, ./0/: *elar%oe et al$ .//9: *ohant!, .//9, No$ A$
Colman, 8$@$, Na"el, R$N$ anPreiss, K$ ,044>1,$!ile &ompetitors and )irtual 'r!ani*ations, Han Nostran
Reinhol, New Oor%$
Harri"an, K$R$, an C$ =almia, C$ ,04401 KKnowle"e wor%ers: -he last bastion of competitive avanta"e,K
%lannin! +evie,, Hol$ 04, No$ 5, pp$ 9-?$
Henschen, =$ ,./0/1, 6+ounation for (I7, "nformation-eek, =ec$ .0, ./0/, pp$ 05-.?$
Horne!, N$, Pasmore, ($ an 2L8hea, -$ ,./0/1, 6@eaership a"ilit!: A business imperative for a HM3A &orl7,
%eople(Strate!y,Hol$ AA, No$ 9, p$ A9$
@ee, 2-K$ =$ (aner;ee, P$, @im, K$H$, Kumar, K$, van Hille"ersber", J$, an &ei, K$K$ ,.//51, KAli"nin" I-
3omponents to Achieve A"ilit! in Cloball! =istribute 8!stem =evelopment,K &ommunications of the $&M,
Hol$ 94, No$ 0/, pp$ 99$
@ee, 2-K$@im, K$H$ 8ambamurth!, H$ an &ei, K$K$ ,.//?1, KI--Enable 2r"ani'ational A"ilit! an +irmsL
8ustainable 3ompetitive Avanta"e,K the -went!-Ei"hth International3onference on Information 8!stems,
*ontreal, 3anaa, .//?$
@u, O$ Ramamurth!, K$ ,./001$ 6Mnerstanin" the lin% between information technolo"! capabilit! an
or"ani'ational a"ilit!: An empirical e)amination7, M"S .uarterly, Hol$ A>, No$ 9, pp$ 4A0-4>9$
*athiassen, @$ an Pries-He;e, J$ ,.//51, 6(usiness a"ilit! an iffusion of information technolo"!7, /uropean
Journal of "nformation Systems, Hol$ 0>, No$ ., pp$ 005J004$
*elar%oe, A$ +rom-Poulsen, *$ an &arna%ulasuri!a, 8$ ,.//91, 6=eliverin" a"ilit! throu"h I-,7Business
Strate!y +evie,, Hol$ 0>, No$ A, pp$ 9>->/$
*e!er, 3$,.//01, K-he secon "eneration of spee,K 0arvard Business +evie,, Hol$ ?4, No$ 9, pp$ .9-.5$
*ircea, *$ Chilic-*icu, ($ an 8toica, *$ ,./001, 63ombinin" business intelli"ence with clou computin" to
eliver! a"ilit! in actual econom!$7 -he (ucharest Acaem! of Economic 8tuies, ./00$Retrieve 0> April
./0. from http
Pwww$ecoc!b$ase$roP0./00Q./pfP*arianQ./8toica$pf$
*ohant!, 8$ ,.//
Business intelligence as an enabler of organizational agility
1
Business intelligence as an enabler of organizational agility
Jean-Pierre Kuilboer, Hanne Russ, Noushin Ashrafi
University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, United States
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In a competitive business worl, the abilit! to etect an eal with chan"e is a re#uirement for
survival$ A"ilit! an business intelli"ence are instrumental to unerstanin" the intricacies of mar%et
chan"es an facilitatin" the eliver! of a faster an better response$ &e focus on these two
phenomena an ar"ue that while or"ani'ational a"ilit! is critical for survival in the current volatile
business environment, business Intelli"ence solutions have the potential to be enablers for achievin"
a"ilit!$ &e establish a lin% between business intelli"ence an a"ilit! an show how business
intelli"ence capabilities can help achieve a"ilit! at operational, portfolio, an strate"ic levels$
Keywords: (usiness Intelli"ence, A"ilit!
Introduction
(usiness environment is e)periencin" an unpreceente volatilit! an oin" business in this
environment is becomin" increasin"l! challen"in"$ *ar%ets, competition, customer emans, an
technolo"! are chan"in" at a rapi pace$ Niche mar%ets "row because customers see% customi'ation
an switchin" costs are low$ Innovation is happenin" at an acceleratin" rate as prouct lifec!cles
ecrease$ +ast chan"in" mar%ets, pressure from increasin" costs, international competitiveness,
Internet usa"e an a short evelopment time for new proucts all contribute to uncertaint! an
intense competition ,-sen" et al, ./001$ 2r"ani'ations strive for "ainin" better, faster, an more
complete insi"ht into ever chan"in" mar%et emans an appl!in" that insi"ht to unerstanin" the
chan"in" environment$
Pricewaterhouse3oopers calle the perio from 0445 to .//5 60/ !ears of hi"h-spee chan"e
characteri'e b! unsettlin" twists an turns7 ,8ull, .//41$ In these unpreictable an unstable times,
companies nee certain capabilities for sustainabilit! an survival$ -he! nee foresi"ht an
responsiveness$ (usiness a"ilit! is a relativel! new parai"m consiere as a solution formaintainin"
competitive avanta"e urin" times of uncertaint! an turbulence in the business environment
,*athiassen et al$, .//51$ -o achieve a"ilit!, or"ani'ations nee to be able to sense an respon to
preictable an unpreictable events$ -hus, a"ilit! re#uires or"ani'ations to buil up economies of
scope in orer to effectivel! respon to chan"in" environment an to be prouctive at the same time
,*elar%oe et al$ .//9: Horne! et al$ ./0/1$ E)ecutives have alrea! reco"ni'e the importance of
a"ilit! to business success an are pursuin" instruments to implement the concept$ 2ne instrument
that has a hi"h potential of becomin" the ma;or enabler of a"ilit! in or"ani'ations is business
intelli"ence$ +ast anal!sis, rapi eplo!ment, an real-time monitorin" of events via portals an
ashboars base on truste, accurate information are features of holistic (I solutions that coul
ma%e a"ilit! achievable ,Henschen, ./0/: *elar%oe et al$ .//9: *ohant!, .//9, No$ A$
Colman, 8$@$, Na"el, R$N$ anPreiss, K$ ,044>1,$!ile &ompetitors and )irtual 'r!ani*ations, Han Nostran
Reinhol, New Oor%$
Harri"an, K$R$, an C$ =almia, C$ ,04401 KKnowle"e wor%ers: -he last bastion of competitive avanta"e,K
%lannin! +evie,, Hol$ 04, No$ 5, pp$ 9-?$
Henschen, =$ ,./0/1, 6+ounation for (I7, "nformation-eek, =ec$ .0, ./0/, pp$ 05-.?$
Horne!, N$, Pasmore, ($ an 2L8hea, -$ ,./0/1, 6@eaership a"ilit!: A business imperative for a HM3A &orl7,
%eople(Strate!y,Hol$ AA, No$ 9, p$ A9$
@ee, 2-K$ =$ (aner;ee, P$, @im, K$H$, Kumar, K$, van Hille"ersber", J$, an &ei, K$K$ ,.//51, KAli"nin" I-
3omponents to Achieve A"ilit! in Cloball! =istribute 8!stem =evelopment,K &ommunications of the $&M,
Hol$ 94, No$ 0/, pp$ 99$
@ee, 2-K$@im, K$H$ 8ambamurth!, H$ an &ei, K$K$ ,.//?1, KI--Enable 2r"ani'ational A"ilit! an +irmsL
8ustainable 3ompetitive Avanta"e,K the -went!-Ei"hth International3onference on Information 8!stems,
*ontreal, 3anaa, .//?$
@u, O$ Ramamurth!, K$ ,./001$ 6Mnerstanin" the lin% between information technolo"! capabilit! an
or"ani'ational a"ilit!: An empirical e)amination7, M"S .uarterly, Hol$ A>, No$ 9, pp$ 4A0-4>9$
*athiassen, @$ an Pries-He;e, J$ ,.//51, 6(usiness a"ilit! an iffusion of information technolo"!7, /uropean
Journal of "nformation Systems, Hol$ 0>, No$ ., pp$ 005J004$
*elar%oe, A$ +rom-Poulsen, *$ an &arna%ulasuri!a, 8$ ,.//91, 6=eliverin" a"ilit! throu"h I-,7Business
Strate!y +evie,, Hol$ 0>, No$ A, pp$ 9>->/$
*e!er, 3$,.//01, K-he secon "eneration of spee,K 0arvard Business +evie,, Hol$ ?4, No$ 9, pp$ .9-.5$
*ircea, *$ Chilic-*icu, ($ an 8toica, *$ ,./001, 63ombinin" business intelli"ence with clou computin" to
eliver! a"ilit! in actual econom!$7 -he (ucharest Acaem! of Economic 8tuies, ./00$Retrieve 0> April
./0. from http
Pwww$ecoc!b$ase$roP0./00Q./pfP*arianQ./8toica$pf$*ohant!, 8$ ,.//