Firms' operational and logistics characteristics and realisation of business analytics benefits: evidence from stock markets

Abstract

The idea of 'big data' provides practitioners in the logistics industry with valuable opportunities to improve their operational efficiency and economic performance. In fact, business analytics techniques are increasingly being used in international logistics, shipping, and supply chain management. We examine the impact of business intelligence (BI) system adoption on firms' market value and the influences of the operating characteristics and contexts of firms. Specifically, we examine whether the impacts of BI adoption are contingent on industry competitiveness, firms' operating cycle, and industry munificence. Using the event study methodology, we analyse 272 manufacturing firms in the USA that adopted BI systems from 2005 to 2014. We find that BI adoption does not have an immediate impact on firms' stock returns, but such impact is significantly enhanced for firms in highly competitive industries, and those with short operating cycles and high industry munificence, i.e., high-growth industries, suggesting that firms in fast-changing dynamic environments find BI systems much more useful.