Data science and firms’ strategic intent: the role of environmental uncertainties

Purpose – Anomalous unexpected and ongoing environmental changes, cutting edge technological advancements and business transformation processes compel organizations to develop new capabilities and strategies to survive and remain competitive. The proliferation of ubiquitous big data combined with affordable new age computing capabilities, prompt organizations to consider data science (DS). Despite emerging academic and managerial interest in DS, the nature of a data science capability (DSC) that informs and improves the quality of business problem-solving, decision-making and outcome-prediction activities remains underdeveloped and may obscure effective practical use of DS. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on capability-based view and data from firms, this study investigates the impact of DSC on firms’ intended future competitive strategies under conditions of changing environments in which the effectiveness of data varies. Findings – Findings show that environmental dynamism positively moderates the DSC–future strategies relationship however surprisingly, this relationship is positively moderated by lower, rather than higher, levels of environmental competitiveness. Originality/value – The study furthers contemporary understanding of organizational intelligence systems, extends the capability-based view and creates a forward-looking framework for organizational DS. It also fuels applied practice by providing insights into the impact of DSC on firms’ strategic intentions and guides managers who struggle what certain digital capabilities their firms should invest in for better decisions and best coping with environmental uncertainties. The study reinforces an emergent realization of a data→strategy approach rather than an opposite traditional approach.