Ambidextrous organization and agility in big data era: The role of business process management systems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of big data analytics-capable business process management systems (BDA-capable BPMS) on ambidextrous organizations’ agility. In particular, how the functionalities of BDA-capable BPMS may improve organizational dynamism and reactiveness to challenges of Big Data era will be explored. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical analysis of the potential of BDA-capable BPMS in increasing organizational agility, with particular attention to the ambidextrous organizations, has been performed. A conceptual framework was subsequently developed. Next, the proposed conceptual framework was applied in a real-world context. Findings The research proposes a framework highlighting the importance of BDA-capable BPMS in increasing ambidextrous organizations’ agility. Moreover, the authors apply the framework to the cases of consumer-goods companies that have included BDA in their processes management. Research limitations/implications The principal limitations are linked to the need to validate quantitatively the proposed framework. Practical implications The value of the proposed framework is related to its potential in helping managers to fully understand and exploit the potentiality of BDA-capable BPMS. Moreover, the implications show some guidelines to ease the implementation of such systems within ambidextrous organizations. Originality/value The research offers a model to interpret the effects of BDA-capable BPMS on ambidextrous organizations’ agility. In this way, the research addresses a significant gap by exploring the importance of information systems for ambidextrous organizations’ agility.