The dynamic management revolution of Big Data : A case study of Åhlen’s Big Data Analytics operation

Sammanfattning: Background: The implementation of Big Data Analytics (BDA) has drastically increased within several sectors such as retailing. Due to its rapidly altering environment, companies have to adapt and modify their business strategies and models accordingly. The concepts of ambidexterity and agility are said to act as mediators to these changes in relation to a company’s capabilities within BDA. Problem: Research within the respective fields of dynamic mediators and BDAC have been conducted, but the investigation of specific traits of these mediators, their interconnection and its impact on BDAC is scant. This actuality is seen as a surprise from scholars, calling for further empirical investigation.  Purpose: This paper sought to empirically investigate what specific traits of ambidexterity and agility that emerged within the case company of Åhlen’s BDA-operation, and how these traits are interconnected. It further studied how these traits and their interplay impacts the firm's talent and managerial BDAC. Method: A qualitative case study on the retail firm Åhlens was conducted with three participants central to the firm's BDA-operation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with questions derived from the conceptual framework based upon reviewed literature and pilot interviews. The data was then analyzed and matched to literature using a thematic analysis approach.  Results: Five ambidextrous traits and three agile traits were found within Åhlen’s BDA-operation. Analysis of these traits showcased a clear positive impact on Åhlen’s BDAC, when properly interconnected. Further, it was found that in absence of such interplay, the dynamic mediators did not have as positive impact and occasionally even disruptive effects on the firm’s BDAC. Hence it was concluded that proper connection between the mediators had to be present in order to successfully impact and enhance the capabilities.