How to improve firm performance using big data analytics capability and business strategy alignment?

The recent interest in big data has led many companies to develop big data analytics capability (BDAC) in order to enhance firm performance (FPER). However, BDAC pays off for some companies but not for others. It appears that very few have achieved a big impact through big data. To address this challenge, this study proposes a BDAC model drawing on the resource-based theory (RBT) and the entanglement view of sociomaterialism. The findings show BDAC as a hierarchical model, which consists of three primary dimensions (i.e., management, technology, and talent capability) and 11 subdimensions (i.e., planning, investment, coordination, control, connectivity, compatibility, modularity, technology management knowledge, technical knowledge, business knowledge and relational knowledge). The findings from two Delphi studies and 152 online surveys of business analysts in the U.S. confirm the value of the entanglement conceptualization of the higher-order BDAC model and its impact on FPER. The results also illuminate the significant moderating impact of analytics capability-business strategy alignment on the BDAC-FPER relationship. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.