Barriers to business intelligence adoption by a government institution in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The aim of this research is to understand why a government institution in South Africa is slow in the adoption of Business Intelligence as a decision-making tool, and what obstacles exists during the adoption of Business Intelligence within a government institution in the Western Cape, South Africa. A conceptual framework was designed, leveraging Richard Heek’s Design-Reality Gap Model. A mixed method of data collection was applied. Qualitative data was collected by conducting structured interviews coupled with the use of dimensions defined in the conceptual framework to create themes. Examples of these themes are Technology, Processes, Objectives and Values, Staffing and Skills, and Management Structures and systems. Quantitative data was collected through the use of a survey, to discover what gaps exist between the expected design from the Business Intelligence software and what was delivered (reality) with the stated dimensions, information and Other resources. The Dimension Gap analysis revealed that there was an overall gap rating of 41.85 calculated. This result indicated a partial failure of the implementation of the Business Intelligence technology. The Thematic analysis highlighted the dominant status per theme. This research found that despite a strong willingness to adopt Business Intelligence and the known benefits, barriers for adoption still existed. The barriers identified in the research conducted, were a lack of communication; a lack of leadership; limited awareness created around the availability of the chosen technology; the absence of training; and the limited awareness of a training platform as well as no education that there referred to the availability of the new technology that was provisioned.