1. Introduction
The emerging technologies in the field of business organization have strategic importance for both researchers and management [
1]. These advanced technologies have stimulated and increased the competitiveness of the business world in recent decades. Nowadays, managing big data has become a challenge and gained strategic importance for all kinds of business organizations [
2]. The adoption of new technologies brings advantages in terms of managing big data and contributes to the innovation process of mastering big data. The strategic importance of big data has attracted the attention of all kinds of business organizations. In fact, using big data enables business organizations to make realistic decisions which are supported by evidence instead of intuition [
3]. In the current decade, the notion of BDAC has become the focus of managers and scholars. BDAC refers to a firm’s capacity to manage, process, and analyze big data [
4]. However, there has been limited discussion regarding the outcomes of BDAC and approaching and utilizing the advantages of big data. Therefore, the aim of this study was to highlight the capabilities that enable organizations to collect, process, manage, and disseminate valuable information among the players of the organization. BDAC represents a foundational and critical role for mastering big data and is referred to as the capability of an organization to effectively unitize these resources to solve problems of quality, decrease costs, set the most suitable prices, identify and retain customers, and gain competitive advantages over other firms in big data environments [
5].
This study investigates how BDAC predicts organizational readiness and the IP mechanism of organizations [
6]. Thus, based on the sociomaterialism perspective, the current study describes the predicament conceptualization dimensions of BDAC (administration (management), technology (technical), and HR resources) and highlights the importance of these dimensions to organizational readiness to achieve high efficiency in operations and maximum profit and competitive advantages over others in the industry [
2]. In line with the assumptions of sociomaterialism and the information technology perspective, the current study aimed to investigate how BDAC is associated with organizational IP and the link between BDAC and organizational readiness.
Most organizations effectively utilize BDAC to achieve innovation performance [
7]. BDAC broadly reflects a way to renovate business processes through which organizations do business [
8]. Through BDAC, organizations are able to collect a variety of information necessary for innovation activities [
9]. Existing studies have identified the potential of BDAC to change administration practice as well as theory [
4], to bring about the next revolution in management [
10] and innovation [
11], and to reduce expenses and create value [
12] and competitive advantages [
13]. We examined the role of BDAC in the improvement of innovation performance.
It is self-evident that BDAC is critical for an organization to perform innovative work [
14]. Some researchers claim that investment in BDAC are a myth; by utilizing this capability, an organization can upgrade its IP [
15]. BDAC enhances an organization’s capacity to utilize organizational data and resources for strategic decisions [
16]. Researchers claim that the methods of internal business are vital with BDAC and a firm’s IP [
17,
18]. Organizational readiness is one of the important factors that indicate the responses of an organization when changes occur [
5]. The management dimension of BDAC gives directions to the organization to prepare all its resources using data analytics and hence is considered business knowledge [
19]. This information and knowledge play a comprehensive role in a firm’s culture as well as the processes to make competitive decisions [
20]. Similarly, the technological capability dimension of BDAC shows the technological knowledge of an organization; we can consider this the actual capabilities of a firm to satisfy the requirements of clients, promote new products and services, and prepare for big changes [
21]. Finally, BDA talent abilities include utilizing human resources effectively and the ability to absorb changes and take action according to real-time knowledge of market changes [
19].
We also argue that the connection between BDAC and IP is composite rather than straightforward. Because it involves the preparation of an organization to undergo changes using BDAC, organizational readiness is an important factor for a firm’s IP. Organizational readiness is concerned with the abilities of organizations that enable them to quickly implement and adopt changes to counter market movements [
22]. All three dimensions of BDAC—management, talent, and technological capabilities—promote organizational operations, strategies, decision making, and the effective unitizing of the talent in the workforce, which are important indicators of the organizational readiness to absorb a change. Therefore, we also investigated the mediating role of organizational readiness in the BDAC and IP link.
Furthermore, digital orientation refers to business strategic orientation concerned with processes, practices, and activities that stimulate an organization’s innovation-related decision making [
23]. Digital orientation facilitates an organization regarding innovativeness, risk taking, and proactiveness for the generation and proper execution of innovative activities [
24]. IP has strategic importance for an organization, which is facilitated by digital orientation [
25,
26]. In line with these arguments, the current study also considered the moderating effect of digital orientation on the connection between organizational readiness and IP.
This study considered the direct impact of BDAC on organizational readiness and IP. Furthermore, the mediation of organizational readiness between BDAC and IP was also examined. Finally, the moderating effect of digital orientation was tested on the connection between organizational readiness and IP. The next section highlights the association between the study constructs. In the third section of the manuscript, we discuss the methods applied for testing the study hypotheses. The fourth section presents the results based on various statistical techniques. The last section contains the discussion of the obtained results and the conclusion.
4. Discussion
The current study examines the outcome of BDAC on organizational readiness and IP. The findings proved the intervening effect of organizational readiness on the connection of BDAC and IP. The statistics revealed that BDAC positively predicted IP. These findings confirmed the results of previous researchers who documented the IP of organizations in the presence of the BDAC of organizations. IP is based on updated information about the market, product, and customers. Innovation activities in the form of products and processes require new information about the prevailing situation in the specific industry. BDAC enables business organizations to effectively utilize the existing resources and provide media data, real-time evidence, and new knowledge-driven data that are essential for increasing IP [
31]. Shan et al. [
29] and Ciampi et al. [
2] suggested in their studies that the BDAC increases IP. Their results proved that BDAC provides innovative ideas for the organization.
The results of H2 proved that BDAC significantly predicts organizational readiness. Organizational BDAC is the key that specifies organizational readiness; a firm’s properties play a very dynamic role in using big data analytics and management capabilities to forecast the readiness factor of the company. The capability regarding the data flow within an organization as well as outside it is a controlling factor, which indicates the readiness of a firm [
35,
36]. The findings of the current study support the findings documented by previous researchers who suggested that BDAC enables a business to make use of valuable information for the alignment of organizational resources for the betterment of the organization [
42]. Organizations with BDAC are more likely to respond to the required changes. Goss and Veeramuthu [
44] demonstrated that BDAC is an important predictor of organizational readiness. The findings related to H2 proved that BDAC significantly influences organizational readiness. The findings suggested that BDAC predicts organizational readiness; therefore, researchers in relevant fields must consider this relationship.
The results of H3 proved that organizational readiness significantly predicts IP. The findings of the current study support the findings documented by previous researchers who suggested that organizational readiness enables a business to make use of valuable information for the alignment of organizational resources for the betterment of the organization and IP [
49]. The findings related to H3 proved that organizational readiness significantly influences IP. The findings suggested that organizational readiness predicts IP. H4 was formulated for testing the intervening role of organizational readiness in the BDAC and IP link. The statistical outcomes revealed that BDAC had a significant indirect association with IP. The mediating role of organizational readiness between BDAC and IP was also confirmed. The findings of the indirect effect of organizational readiness suggested that BDAC plays a critical role in the development of organizational readiness, which in turn enhances the level of IP. Finally, H5 proposed that digital orientation plays a role in enhancing the relationship between organizational readiness and IP. The findings show that the interaction term, such as organizational readiness × digital orientation, has a significant effect on the organizational readiness and IP link.
4.1. Theoretical Implications
The statistical outcomes suggest the contribution of the current study to the existing body of knowledge. This research adds to the existing literature of innovation management in significant ways. This research endeavor significantly adds to the existing literature by formulating a research model that tested the BDAC as a determinant of organizational readiness and IP. Limited research was found in the literature that considered the technological factors for boosting the IP of organizations. Moreover, we investigated how BDAC develops organizational readiness and innovation activities. There is not even a single study which presents such a relation.
The importance of this survey consists in its review of BDAC in producing organizational readiness. Organizational readiness for change is critical to enhance the organizational stance regarding innovative behavior [
34,
62]. Limited studies highlighted the role of organizational readiness in the improvement of IP. Therefore, the current study fills this research gap by focusing on BDAC as a potential determinant of organizational readiness and IP as an outcome of organizational readiness.
4.2. Practical Implications
The study’s findings have valuable practical and managerial implications. The findings suggested that the management of the manufacturing sector must concentrate on BDAC and that management can develop the innovation mechanism with the help of BDAC and in the presence of organizational readiness. Organizations with a higher level of organizational readiness are more likely to achieve IP.
The outcomes validated the foundational role of BDAC in organizational readiness and IP. IP is related to the extent to which an organization is involved in creative and innovative activities and is satisfying customers’ demands with new products and services. Hence, IP is achieved with BDAC through which organizations are able to change their business processes and products and get ready for these changes that occur in the business environment. Similarly, this study also offers guidance on practical management regarding the benefits of BDAC for establishing organizational readiness. When organizations exercise big data management and concentrate on BDAC in response, they are more inclined towards innovation and more ready for these changes.
5. Conclusions
This study was conducted to examine the relationship between BDAC, organizational readiness, digital orientation, and IP. We proposed that BDAC develops organizational readiness which in turn enhances IP. The findings confirmed that BDAC positively determined organizational readiness, and organizational readiness significantly predicted IP. Moreover, the mediating role of organizational readiness also proved the relationship between BDAC and IP. Finally, the findings revealed that digital orientation significantly moderates the organizational readiness and IP link.
The study’s findings have many practical implications, but it is not free from limitations, and these limitations indicate recommendations for future studies. The current study focuses only on manufacturing concerns despite gathering data from other sectors such as trading and services. Thus, for generalizing the findings, future studies can enlarge the scope by involving the trading and services sectors in their research. In this study, only a cross-sectional data analysis method was used; in order to eliminate this deficiency, many other statistical methods could be used in future research.