Technology in its Context

Abstract

The purpose of the literature review is to identify characteristics, concepts, and theories of business intelligence (BI). The status quo of BI is based on the literature review, which covers 86 journal articles from the three areas of accounting, strategy, and information systems between 2006 and 2014. The review combines two established frameworks to illustrate new insights regarding the macro and micro levels of BI. The complementary combination of both levels produces a new lens that shows the conceptualisation and characteristics of BI in a holistic view. The result of the study shows that BI is used as a monolithic concept and static tool with technical control mechanisms. Another result implies that BI is in a phase of maturity, in which it fulfils an organisational purpose without considering its social context or ecosystem in which it occurs. The literature review contributes to the characterisation and theorisation of BI and shows that a company depend on both characteristics and the purpose for which BI is used. Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.