Organizational capabilities that enable big data and predictive analytics diffusion and organizational performance

Purpose Big data and predictive analytics (BDPA) has received great attention in terms of its role in making business decisions. However, current knowledge on BDPA regarding how it might link organizational capabilities and organizational performance (OP) remains unclear. Drawing from the resource-based view, the purpose of this paper is to propose a model to examine how information technology (IT) deployment (i.e. strategic IT flexibility, business–BDPA partnership and business–BDPA alignment) and HR capabilities affect OP through BDPA. Design/methodology/approach To test the proposed hypotheses, structural equation modeling is applied on survey data collected from 159 Indian firms. Findings The results show that BDPA diffusion mediates the influence of IT deployment and HR capabilities on OP. In addition, there is a direct effect of IT deployment and HR capabilities on BDPA diffusion, which also has a direct relationship with OP. Originality/value Through this study, authors demonstrate that IT deployment and HR capabilities have an indirect impact on OP through BDPA diffusion.