The Role Of Big Data Analytics In Strategic Decision-Making And Business Performance: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Digital transformation has increased organizational reliance on big data analytics (BDA) to support strategic decisions and improve business performance. This study synthesizes evidence on how BDA contributes to strategic decision-making, organizational performance, and innovation through a systematic literature review. The review followed the PRISMA 2020 framework and searched Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar for English-language journal and conference publications from 2021 to 2026. After identification, screening, and full-text eligibility assessment, 33 studies were included and examined using thematic analysis. The findings show that BDA strengthens decision quality and speed by combining analytics capability, predictive modeling, artificial intelligence, and data-driven insights. BDA is also associated with operational efficiency, project success, organizational agility, customer personalization, competitive advantage, sustainability, and innovation capability. The dominant themes were strategic decision-making, business performance, sustainability and innovation, and artificial intelligence with predictive analytics. However, the literature provides limited evidence on explainable and ethical artificial intelligence, human-AI collaboration, real-time analytics, and BDA adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises and organizations in developing economies. The review contributes an integrated view of BDA as a socio-technical and strategic capability and recommends transparent, scalable, and human-centered analytics governance.