Business Intelligence (BI) strategy development: a grounded action research

Objectives of the Study: The research objective is to build a framework for the development of BI strategy in accordance with strategic business goals. The study seeks to understand the components of a BI strategy: the strategic alignment between BI and business, the strategy content, the critical success factors and the ideal methodology. Theoretical background and methodology: The theoretical background of the research discusses strategic alignment and information management frameworks. The proposed theoretical framework combines the theories of Strategic Alignment Model by Henderson and Venkatraman (1999) and its extension by Maes (1999) to analyze strategic alignment. The diamond model of information management by Kaario and Peltola (2008) is used to define the BI strategy components. The critical success factors of BI systems by Yeoh and Koronios (2010) and phases of action research by Baskerville and Wood-Harper (1996) manage and structure the development process. As is typical in action research, the theory building and practical problem solving were conducted concurrently. The empirical study is based on data collected in workshops, interviews and steering committee meetings in the case company. Data is analyzed by using the methods of grounded theory: open coding and axial coding. Findings and conclusions: The framework for the development of BI strategy, based on theory and readjusted according to empirical findings, is the main contribution of this thesis. The framework proposes an alteration to the diamond model, which is utilized in explaining the components of BI strategy content. Based on empirical results, one of the components suggested by theory, roles, is revised and relabeled as knowledge. Otherwise, the proposed framework complies with previous research, as theories concerning IT and information management are found significant also in the field of BI. Other conclusions concern the increased communication between information producers and users as a result of BI strategy, the tendency of project participants to emphasize development on short term over long term, and the effect of participants' personal relevance on the results