Identifying the information behavior in competitive intelligence process: a paradigm model for medical sciences universities
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| Pages | 708-729 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-05-2021-0147 |
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management |
| Author | Narges Oraee |
Identifying the information
behavior in competitive
intelligence process: a paradigm
model for medical
sciences universities
Narges Oraee
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to identify and design a paradigm model for universities’information
acquisition behavior in competitive intelligence process.
Design/methodology/approach –The sampling has been conducted in two stages. First, purposive
sampling has been done among Iranian universities of medical sciences. Second, 20 university staff members
were selected using the snowball method. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews.
Findings –The purpose of acquiring information in competitiveintelligence process is to meet organizational
and individual information needs in active and passive ways. The characteristics of information acquisition
and how to acquire it are varied. Enablers include the information sources, individual, organizational
characteristics and environmental pressures. Barriers are individual, organizational, environmental factors.
The consequences of information acquisition are success, failure and partial success. Accordingly, a paradigm
model of information behavior has been designed.
Originality/value –This is the first study to identify information behavior of universities in competitive
intelligence process. In addition to why and how to acquire information, this study also looks at facilitators and
barriers factors.
Keywords Information behavior, Information acquisition behavior, Competitive intelligence process,
Paradigm model, Acquiring information, Medical sciences universities
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Nowadays, organizations with a competitive environment are the winners. They are the ones
who have a deeper understanding and evaluation of their activity field and provide advantages
that are more competitive for themselves. With the help of competitive intelligence, organizations
can be superior to their competitors and gain a special place in competitions. Competitive
intelligence enables organizations to analyze their environment faster and more accurately. It
makes them available to decision-makers at the appropriate times. Competitive intelligence
facilitates the flow of information and knowledge in the organization and dramatically improves
the effectiveness of the thinking and decision-making process (Dess et al.,2005).
Non-profits sectors like universities have organizational needs and obligations. First, they
need to plan with their increasingly competitive and dynamic environment in mind to achieve
the sustainability of their actions (Weerawardena et al., 2010). Furthermore, they must be held
accountable for their activities and the management of their funds. They depend on their
environment for financial and human resources from governments and private sectors, in the
form of donations or grants. Finally, by creating value and obtaining benefits, they can
continue on with their activity. To this end, they use competitive intelligence techniques, such
as benchmarking, information management and so on (Brouard et al., 2010). Iranian medical
science universities compete with other organizations in obtaining funding as well as
promoting academic status in national and international ranking systems.
AJIM
75,4
708
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2050-3806.htm
Received 3 July 2021
Revised 31 October 2021
19 January 2022
Accepted 26 January 2022
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 75 No. 4, 2023
pp. 708-729
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-05-2021-0147
Competitive intelligence is a systematic and ethical process for collecting and analyzing
information on competitors, marketplace and competition, and then, disseminating
intelligence. It can affect organizations’decisions, programs and actions (Adeyelure et al.,
2018;Anica-Popa and Cucui, 2009;Hirvensalo, 2004;Saayman et al., 2008). Information
acquisition is an integral and inseparable part of competitive intelligence process.
In information acquisition phase, the critical and essential information has been collected
from information sources and channels such as individuals, organizations, open-source
documents and captured media and then evaluated in various ways (Oraee et al., 2021). While
this phase is considered an information activity as defined by Wilson (1999) and Case (2007),
it is not explicitly related to information behavior in the competitive intelligence literature.
Although information behavior cannot solely improve decisions, it is a prerequisite for the
following actions and activities in competitive intelligence process. If it is not done well,
optimal intelligence will not be provided, and user satisfaction will not be met.
Many organizations do not have a formal process for gathering, absorbing and
transforming information into competitive intelligence, but they have informal systems for
gathering information about competitors and the foreign business environment (Groom and
David, 2001). Despite all the successful efforts that organizations have made to implement
competitive intelligence, its failure is often reported. One of the reasons for this failure is the
lack of appropriate information-seeking strategies; in other words, information seeking and
the totality of other unintentional or passive behaviors do not work well.
Garcia-Alsina et al. (2013) identified some competitive intelligence inhibitors like low
variety of information sources, lack of good searching practices, little use of information
collections, irregular frequency information searching and the absence of information
awareness. Sewlal (2004),Cerny (2016),Maungwa and Fourie (2018a,b) also, explicitly or
implicitly introduce the lack of proper information as the reason for the failure of competitive
intelligence. It is imperative to focus intensely on information behavior to solve these
problems and get a better understanding of the information that leads to decision-making and
the actions in competitive intelligence process.
There is a great deal of literature available on competitive intelligence. However,
competitive intelligence in universities and higher education has received limited attention in
the existing literature (Garcia-Alsina et al., 2013,2015). In addition, limited studies have
investigated the information behavior in competitive intelligence process.
Therefore, this study has tried to identify medical sciences universities’information
acquisition behavior in competitive intelligence process. The results of the current study
might improve the design, implementation and development of competitive information
systems. The results also help librarians and information professionals (those who support
competitive intelligence) to better understanding of universities’information acquisition
behavior.
Thus, the present study sought to answer the following questions:
RQ1. For what purposes do universities acquire information in competitive intelligence
process?
RQ2. What are the barriers to information acquisition in universities’competitive
intelligence process?
RQ3. What are acquiring information behaviors in universities’competitive intelligence
process?
RQ4. What are the characteristics of information acquisition in universities’competitive
intelligence process?
RQ5. How to acquire information in universities’competitive intelligence process?
Information
behavior model
709
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