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is an example of a “misfit” between end-users
individual capabilities and task. According to the
model the novice user does not possess the required
capabilities to do so, therefore no “fit” exists. In
this case two options are possible. The first option
is that the novice user contacts a power user, and
asks the power user to do the extended analysis.
The second option is to educate the novice user, in
order to become a power user, if the novice user
has a regular need for further analysis.
A “misfit” can also exist between task and
technology. Consider an expert end-user who
needs to conduct an advanced analysis, like e.g.
data-mining, but is not provided with the required
tools. In this case the user will feel limited in his or
her possibilities, and will not adopt the BI-solution,
and probably start searching or developing alterna-
tive solutions. To conclude, the BI segmentation
model is the result of an extensive literature study
on the elements of BI-FIT. It shows the most rel-
evant factors and the interrelationships between
BI end-users, tasks and technologies. Having
discussed the problem awareness and suggestion
and development phase of the research approach,
the next step in the research is to evaluate and
validate the theory in practice. The validation of
the BI-FIT framework is discussed the following
section of this chapter.
In order to enrich and validate the theory created
with experiences from practice, it is investigated
how organizations deal with differing BI end-
users and the factors influencing of BI-FIT. This
is done by identifying and comparing the end-
users' constituencies and their BI usage in the
case organizations with the BI-Fit Framework.
In addition, the elements of the framework are
validated by discussing the relevant segmentation
criteria used to distinguish BI end-users. Despite
the fact that all individual cases are interesting,
this chapter focuses on the overall results.
case organizations
The case studies have been conducted at relatively
large organizations of differing sizes, operating
in several types of industries, and offering a wide
variety of products and services. The main criterion
in our search for suitable organizations was that
all approached organizations have a professionally
implemented BI system in place. Important criteria
for selecting respondents per case were that the
cooperating respondents had an overall view of
BI usage in their organization and that they had
been actively involved during the implementation
of the BI solution. To increase the validity of the
results, triangulation is applied because multiple
respondents have been interviewed per case and
in addition to interviews also documentation was
studied. An overview of the case study organiza-
tions and respondents is provided in Table 2&3
respectively.
VALidAtion of the bi-fit
frAMeWork: MuLtipLe
cAse studies
Validation of the
segmentation criteria
Focusing on the problem area of this research,
use cases are an appropriate choice of research
method, because case study research is well suited
for organizational issues rather than technical is-
sues (Yin, 2008). This also applies to this research,
which investigates problems of organizational
nature. The case study research method is ap-
plied in this research to capture the knowledge of
practitioners and to validate the theories created.
After introducing the research topic, all interview-
ees responded to have recognized the problem area,
and stressed the importance of end-user adoption.
Furthermore, there was consensus about the fact
that especially when a high amount of end-users
needs to be addressed, end-users cannot be satis-
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