TITLE:
Sectoral Variations in Business Intelligence Performance: A Comparative Study of Finance, Technology, and Retail Firms in African Economies
AUTHORS:
Samuel Otis Pratt
KEYWORDS:
Business Intelligence Systems (BIS), Sectoral Performance, Analytics Maturity, Resource-Based View (RBV), Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), Digital Transformation, African Developing Economies, Cross-National Analysis, Data Governance, Industry-Level Comparisons
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.3,
April
22,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study explores the performance of Business Intelligence Systems (BIS) across three main sectors—Finance, Technology, and Retail — in 10 developing African economies. It addresses a notable gap in the information systems literature concerning sector-specific differences that have been underex-plored. Although BIS adoption has increased across the continent, perfor-mance outcomes differ widely across industries due to structural, technological, and organizational variations (Davenport & Harris, 2017). The study uses a cross-national dataset of 300 senior executives to compare sector-level BIS performance and to examine whether BIS adoption variables predict organizational profitability. The goal is to clarify how sector characteristics impact analytics capabilities and to determine why some industries outperform others in leveraging Business Intelligence Systems (BIS) for strategic decision-making. The results show significant sectoral differences in BIS performance, with Finance having the highest analytics maturity, Technology showing reasonable but inconsistent capabilities, and Retail displaying the lowest performance. Financial institutions benefit from strong regu-latory frameworks, advanced data governance processes, and increased investments in analytics-driven risk and compliance systems, thereby improving BIS outcomes. Technology companies exhibit solid technical readiness but have inconsistent operational frameworks, causing variation in analytical performance. Retail companies face challenges due to fragmented supplier networks, poor data integration, and limited digital literacy, all of which significantly reduce BIS utilization. These sectoral patterns confirm that BIS success depends on the alignment of industry structure and organizational skills, as well as the development of the digital ecosystem. Descrip-tive statistics revealed positive perceptions regarding BIS usage (M = 3.93), BIS effectiveness (M = 4.15), BIS tool evaluation (M = 3.54), and external environmental influence (M = 4.60). Reliability analysis showed acceptable internal consistency for BIS usage (α = 0.722) and BIS effectiveness (α = 0.719). Pearson correlation analysis indicated no statistically significant re-lationship between BIS constructs and organizational profitability in this sample. Multiple regression analysis yielded an R2 = 0.019 (p = 0.346), in-dicating that BIS adoption variables did not significantly predict profitability in the sampled organizations. Moderation analysis further showed that external environmental influence significantly weakened the BIS usage-profitability relationship (β = - 0.133, p = 0.021) and the BIS effectiveness-profitability relationship (β = - 0.129, p = 0.024), indicating that adverse contextual conditions decrease the profitability benefits of BIS implementation. This study advances Business Intelligence research by shifting the analytical focus from country- and company-level analyses to cross-industry comparisons, offering an innovative, sector-specific perspective grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) frameworks. Differences between industries highlight the importance of internal capabilities, external influences, and sector-specific digital maturity in affecting the success of Business Intelligence Systems (BIS) (Barney, 1991; Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990). The results provide practical guidance for policymakers and business leaders aiming to improve analytics maturity in African markets by tailoring interventions to each industry’s unique needs and constraints. Ultimately, this research enhances the theoretical understanding of BIS performance in emerging economies and provides a solid evidence base to support sector-specific digital transformation strategies.