Research challenges and opportunities in business analytics

There are plenty of definitions proposed for business analytics–some of them focus on the scope/coverage/problem, some on the nature of the data, and some concentrate on the enabling methods and methodologies. The common denominator of all of these definitions is that business analytics is the encapsulation of all mechanisms that help convert data into actionable insight for better and faster decision-making. Although the name is new, its purpose has been around for several decades, characterised under different labels. Largely driven by the need in the business world, business analytics has become one of the most active research areas in academics and in industry/practice. The Journal of Business Analytics is created to establish a dedicated home for analytics researchers to publish their research outcomes. Covering all facets of business analytics (descriptive/diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive), the journal is destined to become the pinnacle for rigorous and relevant analytics research manuscripts. Herein we provide an overview of research challenges and opportunities for business analytics to lay the groundwork for this new journal.