Strategies in managing risks in the adoption of business analytics practices : A case study of a telecom service provider

Purpose – There are various risks that can derail the adoption of business analytics (BA) practice in a telecom service provider (TSP) thereby jeopardising the possibility to increase profitability and improved customer experience. The purpose of this paper is to analyse different associated risks using situation-actor-process, learnings-actions-performance (SAP-LAP) model and build mitigation strategies for the adoption. Also the risks are ranked using the interactive ranking process (IRP) methodology and the dominating matrix provides insight to the actions and actors that need attention to improve the processes and performance. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a TSP (X1) was analysed through close interactions with experts within the company and externals involved in setting up the BA practice in X1. Using the SAP-LAP framework risks were identified and then the IRP was used to rank the actors w.r.t performance and actions w.r.t processes. Findings – X1 has taken initiatives for setting up the BA practice in order to improve the profitability and customer experience through data insights. The suggested conceptual SAP-LAP model helps to address risk mitigation strategies for its adoption and the IRP frameworks helps in understanding the prioritisation matrix (using the ranking) to be considered to mitigate the risks. Research limitations/implications – The IRP framework is limited to certain relationships between actors, w.r.t processes and actions w.r.t performance for the prioritisation matrix of identified risks. This has scope to be further expanded to other relationships and therefore refining the findings. Also this approach could be used to study other industries too. Practical implications – SAP-LAP model identifies the risks in adopting the BA practice in a TSP. The synthesis of SAP leads to LAP, which bridges the gap by suggesting improvement actions based on the learning from the present situation, actors and processes. IRP provides the prioritisation matrix for mitigating the risks by identifying the dominating factors. Originality/value – BA practice plays a dominant role in a TSP. An approach to study the risks of its adoption using the SAP-LAP and IRP framework bridges the gap between the academic and corporate world. This paper is very relevant to managers involved in setting up a BA practice. For the academic, use of research model validates the identification of risks that are recognised in the corporate world and prioritising the risks that need to be addressed.