Factors influencing business intelligence (BI) data collection strategies: An empirical investigation

This paper examines external pressures that influence the relationship between an organization's business intelligence (BI) data collection strategy and the purpose for which BI is implemented. A model is proposed and tested that is grounded in institutional theory, research about competitive pressure, and research about the purpose of BI. Two data collection strategies (comprehensive and problem driven) and three BI purposes (insight, consistency, and transformation) are examined. Findings provide a theoretical lens to better understand the motivators and the success factors related to collecting the huge amounts of data required for BI. This study also provides managers with a mental model on which to base decisions about the data required to accomplish their goals for BI.

► Institutional pressures influence BI implementation choices.
► Organizations experiencing institutional isomorphic pressures adopt BI for data consistency.
► Organizations adopting BI for data consistency use a comprehensive data collection strategy.
► Organizations adopting BI for transformation use a comprehensive data collection strategy.