Does Adopting Data Analytics Really Improve Efficiency?

Summary

This study examines whether adopting data analytics (DA)—from basic DA that summarize past performance to advanced DA that predict future outcomes—improves how efficiently companies operate. The authors analyzed a large sample of U.S. public companies from 2004 to 2018, comparing firms that adopted DA with similar firms that did not. They measured efficiency relative to each industry’s “best performers” to see if DA adoption leads to measurable operational gains.