Focusing information in manufacturing: a knowledge management perspective
| Published date | 01 October 2002 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570210439472 |
| Date | 01 October 2002 |
| Pages | 381-389 |
| Author | Ely Laureano Paiva,Aleda V. Roth,Jaime Evaldo Fensterseifer |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Focusing information in manufacturing: a knowledge
management perspective
Ely Laureano Paiva
Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos/UNISINOS, Sao Leopoldo, Brazil
Aleda V. Roth
Kenan-Flagler Business School, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Jaime Evaldo Fensterseifer
PPGA/Escola de AdministracËaÄo/Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Introduction
The increasing access to and use of
information have led manufacturing to face
new managerial challenges. In this context,
information can be considered as a central
resource for the managers together with
other traditional resources like raw
materials, equipment and people.
Furthermore, the increasing environmental
dynamism has stressed information as vital
for the current competitive conditions.
In this research, we are seeking to identify
how manufacturing companies are searching
for strategic information. Given that
currently there is an increasing offer of
information sources, are the companies
trying to focus in specific sources? Or is the
search for a greater number of types and
sources of information an increasing trend?
Additionally, we may question how
information may influence some
competitiveness driving forces.
Are companies with distinct performance
levels developing closer relationships with
customers? Or, may different types and
sources of information and information
characteristics influence companies'
performance?
This article is structured according to the
following sequence: the first section presents
the theoretical background on organizational
knowledge and information; the next section
shows the general theoretical premises; the
last sections present the empirical results
and the first conclusions.
Conceptual basis
Information and organizational knowledge
Manufacturing companies have been facing
rapid changes in their environments in
the last decades. To Bettis and Hitt (1995),
the current dynamism in competitive
environments has led to decreasing
forecastability and increasing risks. In this
manner, information and knowledge are
becoming the most important competitive
resources.
As information is becoming a central input
in current competitive environments,
companies should identify which
information is more important for their
competitiveness. Also, as response time in
dynamic environments may be a decisive
characteristic, shorter times to find the
relevant information may decrease the total
response time. The expression ``economies of
knowledge'', proposed by Roth (1996) is in
point. ``Economies of knowledge'' occur when
``the firm is able to use its business acumen,
combined with skilled people and
experienced with advanced technologies, to
create an organization that consistently
identifies, assimilates, and exploits new
knowledge more efficiently and effectively
than the competition'' (Roth, 1996, p. 1).
``Economies of knowledge'' are required for a
company to reach strategic timing.
The competitive driving forces in this
context are the internal competencies,
considered for use as an output from
organizational knowledge. Information
obtained from suppliers, customers, market
place and internal functions is considered the
main input to organizational knowledge.
According to Kogut and Zander (1992), know-
what is a kind of knowledge based on
information, which may be transferred
without loss of integrity because the
syntactical rules are known. On the other
hand, know-how is related to how to operate
efficiently in a knowledge cumulative
process. Therefore, information is a
``precious'' resource for know-how and know-
what. Cornella (1994) stresses that many
companies become frustrated when they
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[ 381 ]
Industrial Management &
Data Systems
102/7 [2002] 381±389
#MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0263-5577]
[DOI 10.1108/02635570210439472]
Keywords
Manufacturing, Management,
Knowledge workers,
Strategic information systems
Abstract
This paper addresses, from a
knowledge management
perspective, the following
question: How are companies
choosing the information that is
considered more important for the
management of the manufacturing
process? We analyze empirically,
from a strategic approach, how
different types and sources of
information may influence
information characteristics like
accuracy, access, and timing. In
addition, we also evaluate how
information is related to
manufacturing competencies and
performance. The results indicate
that customer-focused information
and information technologies (IT)
are the most important aspects
that influence information
characteristics.
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