Abstract:

Business Intelligence (BI) as a concept is not a new phenomenon. It has been widely emphasized in the strategic management literature as an essential competitive tool, while IT related literature stresses on technical advancement of BI tools. However, deployment of BI in organizations, which involve IT systems and other organizational resources to manage knowledge strategically that would lead organizations to sustain their competitive advantage, is not well explained. While the literature on BI covers various issues especially on technical aspects, it lacks comprehensive studies of successful BI deployment and its relationship with organizations sustainable competitive advantage. This paper attempts to highlight these issues in the context of Telecommunication Industry. A qualitative field study in Malaysia is undertaken in this research, where all of four telecommunication services providers, in various levels of BI deployments, are studied. The study is conducted via interviews with key personnel, whom are involved in decision-making tasks in their organizations. Contents analysis is then performed to extract the factors and variables and a comprehensive model of BI for Sustainable Competitive Advantage is developed. The results of the interviews identify nine major variables affecting successful BI deployment as; Quality Information, Quality Users, Quality Process, BI Governance, Business Strategy, Use of BI Tools, Organization Culture and BI Benefits. BI is believed to the main source for acquiring knowledge in sustaining competitive advantage.