Towards a “BI Value Coin”: Applying Service Research to Address Business Intelligence Challenges

Academic and practitioner literature reports on numerous Business Intelligence (BI) challenges. Spohrer states that knowledge discovery and knowledge application are two sides of the same coin where both sides are needed for value to emerge. Aligned with this, we identify that the failed emergence of BI value – typified by the prevalence of BI challenges – results from a myopic focus on producing data and neglect to use what is produced. Identifying that existing approaches to overcome BI challenges are largely ineffective, we present literature and case study findings showing how a shift to S-D Logic may bring about a balanced focus on production and use within BI. We apply Spohrer’s coin analogy along with service research concepts such as ServiceDominant (S-D) Logic and service systems theory conceptually to BI, viewing BI as a series of exchange activities from collection (discovery) of operand resources (e.g. data) to use of operant resources (e.g.