Viewpoint
Realizing the strategic impact of business
intelligence utilization
Yu Yin Lim and Ai Ping Teoh
Introduction
In a highly competitive and dynamic business environment, organizations intend to scrutinize
the information needed in strengthening their decision-making. Evidently, business intelligence
can help organizations combine management practices and information technology to make a
strategic decision for organizational performance (Richards et al., 2019). Business intelligence
refers to integrated management information systems that transform data into information and
business insights to make well-informed decisions.
Business Intelligence Utilization
As a technology-driven process for analyzing data and presenting actionable information to
help managerial decision-making, business intelligence has become an important concept
with the availability of “big data” (Puklavec et al., 2018). Business intelligence is integrated
into regular work practices as an appropriate tool to extract “big data” in a speedy way to
make the right decisions. The dimensions of business intelligence include data integration,
analytical capabilities, content quality in business processes, and decision-making culture
(Eidizadeh et al., 2017).
As business intelligence being adopted among larger organizations such as public listed
companies, it is still unclear whether these organizations gain the full benefits of what the
systems could potentially bring. This paper argues that merely adoption of business
intelligence without perpetual utilization in key business processes and decision-making will
not be translated into business value. In other words, the strategic impact of business
intelligence can only be observed if it is utilized by the organization across its functional areas.
Striving toward Business Sustainability
The Malaysian Public Listed Companies. Malaysia is an important and upcoming emerging
market. Supported by higher household spending and private investment, the Malaysian
economy grew by 4.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 compared to 4.5 per cent in the
first quarter (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2019). Going forward, the Malaysian economy is expected
to remain on a steady growth path. Overall, the baseline projection is for the Malaysian economy
to grow between 4.3 and 4.8 per cent for the year (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2019).
Malaysian Public Listed Companies contribute significantly to the Malaysian economy.
Business sustainability has been a critical concern among these companies as evident in
industry reports and business news. Being listed publicly, the pressure from stakeholders
are enormous as these companies deal with uncertainty due to the context of worldwide
political, social changes, alongside the intensified global competition. Consequently, the
survival and business sustainability of these companies may be at risk.
Yu Yin Lim and
Ai Ping Teoh are both
based at Faculty of
Business, Universiti Sains
Malaysia, George Town,
Malaysia.
DOI 10.1108/SD-09-2019-0184 VOL. 36 NO. 4 2020, pp. 7-9, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 0258-0543j STRATEGIC DIRECTIONj PAGE 7
When examining business sustainability, the triple bottom line of profit, people, and planet
(Muntean, 2018) are considered, thereby implying a balance among these dimensions.
Business sustainability is empowered through business analysis, enterprise reporting, and
performance management, which are the pillars of business intelligence. From empirical
studies, business intelligence heightens business optimization via managing the ambiguity
effectively, thereby address the interests of all stakeholders and strive toward business
sustainability.
Strategic Impact 1
Enhancing Economic Performance. Business intelligence utilization has a positive and
significant correlation with the impact on the routine and innovative organization performance
dimensions, i.e. the impact on marketing and sales, the impact on management and internal
operations, and the impact on procurement (Puklavec et al., 2018).
Business intelligence utilization helps companies determine the sale trends, monitor
customer requests and complaints, anticipate customer behavior and market demand,
thus, reach fundamental goals, such as cost reduction, productivity improvement, product
development, customer service development, and income increase (Eidizadeh et al., 2017).
Therefore, business intelligence utilization has a strategic impact on enhancing the
economic performance of the public listed companies. These companies can improve cost
efficiency while garnering more revenue, and, eventually, attain the overall financial
performance of the organization.
Strategic Impact 2
Strengthening Environmental Performance. Existing studies suggested that business
intelligence utilization enables organizations’ strategic planning, improvements of
performance, and building of competitive advantage by offering data integration and
analytical capabilities that can provide valuable decision-making information for
stakeholders at different organizational levels (Puklavec et al., 2018).
Public listed companies are subjected to public concern pertaining to the responsible
operations of their companies. Balancing profit against the environmental impact of their
business operations is a challenge in discharging their responsibility to the planet.
Therefore, equipping themselves with relevant and real-time information via business
intelligence utilization is critical.
Business intelligence utilization could strengthen the environmental performance among
public listed companies in Malaysia. Specifically, companies can observe the strategic
impact in terms of diminishing the corporate impact on the natural environment, global
warming, and responding strategically to the ongoing climate change.
Strategic Impact 3
Reinforcing Social Performance. Several arguments support that business intelligence
utilization provides faster and easier access to information, improves business processes,
while identification opportunities and threats that may occur in the market, meanwhile
interacting with stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, competitors and employees.
Business intelligence use can help public listed companies to uncover insights about their
employees’ morale and other related concerns, thereby contributing to human capital
development. In fact, business intelligence usage has a significant impact on knowledge
sharing and innovation. As employees of all levels utilize business intelligence in their daily
tasks, everyone could share a united ambition with the company’s entire business network.
PAGE 8j STRATEGIC DIRECTIONj VOL. 36 NO. 4 2020
Public listed companies are expected to be involved in corporate social activities. Utilizing
insights from business intelligence uncovers potential areas for contributing to society via
effective corporate social programs that address the needs of the community. Meanwhile,
drives the companies to attain a good corporate reputation, therefore, reinforces the social
performance of the companies.
Conclusion
This paper highlights the strategic impact of business intelligence utilization in the context of
Malaysian public listed companies. In conclusion, business intelligence utilization enhances
the economic performance, strengthens the environmental performance, and reinforces the
social performance toward attaining business sustainability effectively in today’s dynamic
business environment.
References
Bank Negara Malaysia (2019), “Economic and financial developments in Malaysia in the second quarter
of 2019”, available at: www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=en_publication&pg=en_qb&ac=184&en&year=
2019 (accessed 19 September 2019).
Eidizadeh, R., Salehzadeh, R. and Chitsaz Esfahani, A. (2017), “Analysing the role of business
intelligence, knowledge sharing and organizational innovation on gaining competitive advantage”,
Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 250-267, doi: 10.1108/JWL-07-2016-0070.
Muntean, M. (2018), “Business intelligence issues for sustainability projects”, Sustainability (Switzerland),
Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 1-10, doi: 10.3390/su10020335.
Puklavec, B., Oliveira, T. and Popovic, A. (2018), “Understanding the determinants of business
intelligence system adoption stages an empirical study of SMEs”, Industrial Management and Data
Systems, Vol. 118 No. 1, pp. 236-261, doi: 10.1108/IMDS-05-2017-0170.
Richards, G., Yeoh, W., Chong, A.Y.L. and Popovic, A. (2019), “Business intelligence effectiveness and
corporate performance management: an empirical analysis”, Journal of Computer Information Systems,
Vol. 59 No. 2, pp. 188-196, doi: 10.1080/08874417.2017.1334244.
About the authors
Yu Yin Lim is currently working as a consultant, providing business coaching and
consultancy services for business growth and sustainability. Her areas of expertise include
business excellence framework, strategic planning, leadership development and
performance management systems. She obtained a Bachelor of Science and Master of
Business Administration (Service Science, Management and Engineering) from Universiti
Sains Malaysia. Yu Yin Lim is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: yuyinlim@
gmail.com
Ai Ping Teoh is a Senior Lecturer with the Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains
Malaysia. Her areas of expertise include Business Intelligence, Enterprise Systems,
Enterprise Risk Management, Business Performance Management, Web-based Strategy,
and Web-based Education/Training. Prior to joining the education industry, she was a
Consultant specializing in SAP R/3 Enterprise Resource Planning.
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Keywords:
Strategic impact,
Business intelligence
utilization,
Business sustainability,
Public listed companies,
Malaysia
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