Data and analytics strategy: A qualitative analysis of protection, management, and exploration objectives using dynamic capabilities theory

This study aims to analyze how organizations across different business contexts drive and align their D&A strategies to create business value, deepening the understanding of the characteristics, indicators, and dimensions that reflect their strategic choices. Based on a qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 informants from Brazilian organizations. The results were analyzed from the theoretical perspective of dynamic capabilities. The empirical evidence and inferences analyzed indicate that D&A's positioning and strategy can be reflected in three dimensions of objectives: protection, management, and exploration. Furthermore, the study discussed how each objective of the D&A strategy relates to the data-driven dynamic capabilities of sensing, capturing, and transformation. The results obtained and the propositions developed are synthesized into an integrative model that describes the relationships among strategic positioning for D&A, the indicators for each objective across the three dimensions of the D&A strategy, and the D&A strategy's relationship with data-driven dynamic capabilities. Therefore, the study explains how organizations drive and align their D&A positioning, strategy, and objectives to create business value. Thus, this qualitative study fills a significant gap in research by examining the topic in depth from a multifaceted perspective. The results offer guidance for organizations to evaluate and implement optimized data and analytics strategies, balancing protection with the creation of analytical data-driven value to increase competitiveness sustainably.