Big Data and Analytics: Why an IT Organization Requires Dedicated Roles to Drive Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Theory

The massive amount of data now available raises the question of how companies can make efficient use of what lies behind their business processes. Interactions between IT and business structures within the organization would appear to be necessary. This paper investigates how a dedicated Data Scientist and a dedicated Information Architect could add a new and connective strategic element to the organizational structure.

Being in a dedicated role means identifying with specific stereotypes and integrating with an organizational classification that has a positive influence on the task at hand (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). Attributing accountability helps the work flow operate more efficiently. Yet these dedicated roles as the sustainable force for handling Analytics and Big Data are scarcely discussed in either the literature or within the IT organization. To date, such work has been largely handled by a shared group with different roles within the company. A well-balanced alignment between IT strategy and business strategy has been shown to be a decisive factor in successful IT governance (Wu, Straub, & Liang, 2015). This governance structure also has a positive impact on organizational performance. The authors therefore believe that the dedication of roles within IT is conducive to better organizational performance. This research investigates the importance of dedication and what its integration into a conceptual model might look like.