Impact of Relationship between the Use of Big Data Technologies and Strategic Cost Management on the Competitive Advantage: Iraqi Evidence

The current research is an attempt to analyze the relationship between the use of big data technologies and strategic cost management and their impact on the competitive advantage of a sample of private banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange. Due to rising competition in the banking sector and the growing pace of change in the economic and technological environment, big data represents a important strategic asset for improving the performance of banks that are seeking to increase their competitive power and overall efficiency. Thus be able to take advantage of big data technologies and strategic cost management in an appropriate way, which is really appropriate for the dominance of banks over the market, is a must. The study is grounded on a principal hypothesis: The influence of the association of big data technologies and strategic cost management on competitive advantage The data collecting instrument was a questionnaire. The number of questionnaires is 173 distributed over a sample of accountants, auditors, financial analysts, and financial managers in most private banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange. Out of the distributed questionnaires, a total of 158 valid responses were returned (91%). The author administered the questionnaires and tested the hypotheses using the advanced statistical program Smart-PLS and Excel, applying Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed a significant effect of the relationship of both the use of big data technologies and strategic cost management have on competitive advantage of all the dimensions (determinants of the competitive advantage), cost and service quality, flexibility and flexibility to changes in the market, and creativity, innovation and time. The researcher further suggests that there is a need to develop the skills of bank employees in big data techniques, exploit big data as a strategic weapon to both enhance efficiency of the operation function and improve the strategic decision making process, and to adopt sophisticated analytics to assess actual performance and facilitate risk management. In addition, the research highlights that big data technologies are aligned with strategic cost management, as a planning tool, and as a cost control tool used to achieve high service quality and operational efficiency, while also fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. This capability will enable banks to transform their internal processes, create customer satisfaction with the immediate response to preferences, and therefore, gain their competitive advantage innovatively and efficiently.