Using business analytics to enhance dynamic capabilities in operations research: A case analysis and research agenda

Abstract

While the topic of analytics is rapidly growing in popularity across various domains, there is still a relatively low amount of empirical work in the field of operations research (OR). While studies of various technical and business aspects of analytics are emerging in OR, little has been done to address how the OR community can leverage business analytics in dynamic and uncertain environments – the very place where OR is supposed to play a key role. To address this gap, this study draws on the dynamic capabilities view of the firm and builds on eight selected case studies of operations research activity in large organisations, each of which have invested significantly in analytics technology and implementation. The study identifies fourteen analytics-enabled micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities, essentially highlighting how organisations can use analytics to manage and enhance their OR activities in dynamic and uncertain environments. This study also identifies six key cross-cutting propositions emerging from the data and develops a roadmap for future OR researchers to address these issues and improve the use and value of analytics as enablers of organisational dynamic capabilities.