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NTU Management Review Vol. 32 No. 3 Dec. 2022

How System Integrators Can Help Client Companies Develop
Big Data Analytics Capability?

Tim Yueh-Ying Wu, Graduate Institute of Business Administration, National Taiwan University
Jamie Yi-Ting Chang, Department of Information Management, Tunghai University
Jeffrey Chi-Feng Tai, Department of Management Information Systems, National Chiayi University

1. Purpose/Objective

Big Data Analytics (BDA) capability is the ability of companies to assemble,
integrate, and deploy tangible human resources along with intangible big data resources.

However, it is still not clear what type of practical practice companies may adopt to
effectively obtain BDA resources and increase their BDA capability. Past studies on
BDA resources/capability using conceptual frameworks and qualitative approaches have
not taken into account how many companies utilize system integrators to respond to the
complex challenges they face when obtaining BDA resources. More specifically, these

studies do not conduct empirical studies on how well the capabilities of system integrators
would affect companies in developing BDA capability and realizing benefits (Günther,
Mehrizi, Huysman, and Feldberg, 2017).

On the other hand, several BDA resources/capability studies have focused on the
ability to identify favorable customers and suppliers (Könning, Westner, and Strahringer,
2019; Lacity, Khan, and Willcocks, 2009). Nevertheless, these studies primarily examine
general abilities such as Information Technology (IT), process integration, and supplier
management; few studies have explored the outsourcing of specific organizational

capabilities under BDA (Karimi-Alaghehband and Rivard, 2020). Thus, one of the
research objectives of this study is to clarify the capabilities of system integrators that
contribute to a customized overall solution to client companies.

Regarding the second objective of this study, based on resource-based views, tangible
resources (e.g., external BDA technology assets) are more easily obtained from the
market, but the applied knowledge and skills of IT resources, along with complementary
intangible organizational resources, cannot be effectively obtained from external due to
path-dependent processes and organizational embeddedness (Wade and Hulland, 2004).

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