Driving business value through people analytics: Literature review and research agenda from an information systems perspective

Abstract People analytics has evolved as an evidence-based approach to human resource management (HRM) that uses technology to analyze employee-related data with the aim of improving HRM and overall business performance. Despite its potential, people analytics maturity remains limited in many firms. The information systems (IS) discipline with its dual lens at the intersection of technology and management is particularly well-positioned to help advance the field. The purpose of this paper is to support future research and managerial action by means of a research agenda as well as an integrative framework of people analytics with a focus on business value creation. These contributions are grounded in the results of a systematic literature review of 122 research papers from the IS discipline and—for overall context—a bibliometric analysis of 1,682 research papers spanning IS and other disciplines. We find that people analytics research in a wider sense has existed since the 1960s and is divided into a predominantly technological and a predominantly managerial stream. By developing new people analytics approaches and identifying enabling factors for implementation, IS researchers have begun to help bridge this divide. However, there is still a need for further IS research, which can be guided by our research agenda and integrative framework, encompassing HRM, data/technology, and employees as the key resources whose development and alignment are essential for creating business value through people analytics.