Table 1 Use cases for BI in management... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Use cases for BI in management controls

Example of control	Explanation of control	Use cases for BI
Formal controls: focus on measured performance, the activities that produce desired results and monitor against performance standards (Cravens et al., 2004)
Planning	A management control for creating goal congruence (Malmi and Brown, 2008)	Analyse existing data to predict future trends and ensure efficient resource allocation to achieve planning goals (Hart and Snaddon, 2014)
Budgeting	Used to hold employees accountable for achieving financial goals (Felício et al., 2021)	Dashboard displays that visualise actual performance against budget (Granlund, 2011; Elbashir et al., 2021)
Cost analysis	Weighing costs, such as operational expenses, production costs and overheads, against profits to reduce unnecessary expenses (Langfield-Smith, 1997)	Aid organisations in understanding cost drivers, optimise spending and improve cost controlling (Rikhardsson and Yigitbasioglu, 2018; Felício et al., 2021)
Activity based costing (ABC)	Provide accurate and detailed understanding of cost structures to apportion overhead to products (Hart and Snaddon, 2014)	Data analysis and visualisation to improve cost allocation and insight of detailed activities for better decision making (Rikhardsson and Yigitbasioglu, 2018)
Performance monitoring	Track progress towards multiple key performance indicators (Richards et al., 2019)	Monitor areas such as process performance and customer service outcomes against quantified standards (Gauzelin and Bentz, 2017; CIMA, 2008)
Internal auditing	Provide assurance on compliance and alignment of practices with regulations and strategic objectives and evaluate operational effectiveness (Joshi and Marthandan, 2020)	Analyses large volumes of data, identify trends and anomalies that may indicate areas of concerns or opportunities for improvement (Joshi and Marthandan, 2020)
Informal controls: focus on culture, values, beliefs and social norms that influence and regulate employee actions and behaviours to achieve desired outcomes (Malmi and Brown, 2008)
Open channels of communication	A management control for promoting culture of sharing information and collaboration (Peters et al., 2016)	Create a transparent environment where performance information is accessible and supported by real-time data (Peters et al., 2016)
Interaction and consensus seeking	Encourages teamwork and aligns individual actions with organisational objectives (Malmi et al., 2020)	Monitoring performance that aligns all employees to work towards a common goal (Chapman and Kihn, 2009)
Employee adaptation	helping employees adapt to organisational norms and expectations (Carenys, 2012)	analyse efficacy of employee training by providing feedback on performance (Elbashir et al., 2021)
Clan culture	Creating an environment where employees share common values and beliefs (Malmi et al., 2020)	Providing information to all employees that will encourage a culture of performance and the motivation to implement the strategy of the organisation (Chapman and Kihn, 2009)

Example of control	Explanation of control	Use cases for BI
Formal controls: focus on measured performance, the activities that produce desired results and monitor against performance standards (Cravens et al., 2004)
Planning	A management control for creating goal congruence (Malmi and Brown, 2008)	Analyse existing data to predict future trends and ensure efficient resource allocation to achieve planning goals (Hart and Snaddon, 2014)
Budgeting	Used to hold employees accountable for achieving financial goals (Felício et al., 2021)	Dashboard displays that visualise actual performance against budget (Granlund, 2011; Elbashir et al., 2021)
Cost analysis	Weighing costs, such as operational expenses, production costs and overheads, against profits to reduce unnecessary expenses (Langfield-Smith, 1997)	Aid organisations in understanding cost drivers, optimise spending and improve cost controlling (Rikhardsson and Yigitbasioglu, 2018; Felício et al., 2021)
Activity based costing (ABC)	Provide accurate and detailed understanding of cost structures to apportion overhead to products (Hart and Snaddon, 2014)	Data analysis and visualisation to improve cost allocation and insight of detailed activities for better decision making (Rikhardsson and Yigitbasioglu, 2018)
Performance monitoring	Track progress towards multiple key performance indicators (Richards et al., 2019)	Monitor areas such as process performance and customer service outcomes against quantified standards (Gauzelin and Bentz, 2017; CIMA, 2008)
Internal auditing	Provide assurance on compliance and alignment of practices with regulations and strategic objectives and evaluate operational effectiveness (Joshi and Marthandan, 2020)	Analyses large volumes of data, identify trends and anomalies that may indicate areas of concerns or opportunities for improvement (Joshi and Marthandan, 2020)
Informal controls: focus on culture, values, beliefs and social norms that influence and regulate employee actions and behaviours to achieve desired outcomes (Malmi and Brown, 2008)
Open channels of communication	A management control for promoting culture of sharing information and collaboration (Peters et al., 2016)	Create a transparent environment where performance information is accessible and supported by real-time data (Peters et al., 2016)
Interaction and consensus seeking	Encourages teamwork and aligns individual actions with organisational objectives (Malmi et al., 2020)	Monitoring performance that aligns all employees to work towards a common goal (Chapman and Kihn, 2009)
Employee adaptation	helping employees adapt to organisational norms and expectations (Carenys, 2012)	analyse efficacy of employee training by providing feedback on performance (Elbashir et al., 2021)
Clan culture	Creating an environment where employees share common values and beliefs (Malmi et al., 2020)	Providing information to all employees that will encourage a culture of performance and the motivation to implement the strategy of the organisation (Chapman and Kihn, 2009)

Source(s): Authors’ own work