Barriers to Data-Driven Decision-Making Among Online Retailers

Abstract

This study investigates the barriers to data-driven decision-making among online retailers. The study seeks to deepen the previous knowledge by considering data-driven decision-making as a process and identifying the critical obstacles within its different (6) stages. Qualitative interview data (N=10) collected from Finnish e-commerce professionals are analyzed. The findings show that barriers to data-driven decision-making occur at all stages during the decision-making process. The barriers are mostly related to the employees’ and the management’s expertise in collecting, organizing, analyzing, summarizing, synthesizing, and prioritizing data. In addition, attitudinal, technical, and strategy-related barriers can hinder data-driven decision-making. The findings suggest that all the stages included in the data-driven decision-making process and the obstacles that prevent data-driven decision-making during the different stages should be carefully investigated and considered by online retailers.