Navigating the acceptance of implementing business intelligence in organizations: A system dynamics approach

Abstract

The rise of information technology has transformed the business landscape, with organizations increasingly relying on information systems to collect and store vast amounts of data. To stay competitive, businesses must harness this data to make informed decisions that optimize their actions in response to the market. Business intelligence (BI) is an approach that enables organizations to leverage data-driven insights for better decision-making, but implementing BI comes with its own set of challenges. Accordingly, understanding the key factors that contribute to successful implementation is crucial.

This study examines the factors affecting the implementation of BI projects by analyzing the interactions between these factors using system dynamics modeling. The research draws on interviews with five BI experts and a review of the background literature to identify effective implementation strategies. Specifically, the study compares traditional and self-service implementation approaches and simulates their respective impacts on organizational acceptance of BI. The results show that the two approaches were equally effective in generating organizational acceptance until the twenty-fifth month of implementation, after which the self-service strategy generated significantly higher levels of acceptance than the traditional strategy. In fact, after 60 months, the self-service approach was associated with a 30% increase in organizational acceptance over the traditional approach. The paper also provides recommendations for increasing the acceptance of BI in both implementation strategies. Overall, this study underscores the importance of identifying and addressing key factors that impact BI implementation success, offering practical guidance to organizations seeking to leverage the power of BI in today's competitive business environment.