Internal Electronic Information as a Competitiveness-Enhancing Resource in German Automotive Industry Suppliers

摘要

The research examined the ROVI conceptual framework (adjusted from VRIO) in order to provide empirical evidence of internal information stocks, use, and exploitation in SMEs in response to the assumption by Hicks (2007: 239) 'that the information managed is of some value to the organisation and/or individuals within the [SMEs] and that the IS implemented support the flow of value (Cardeal and Antonio, 2012; Lin et al., 2012). This research also tested the assumption of individual and organizational awareness and appreciation of information as an asset to the company (Ray et al., 2007). The majority of the sampled small firms acknowledge the significance of their electronic information resources and realize their intrinsic value by way of utilizing information capacities. In so doing, the findings support IEI as satisfying the requirements to be a competitiveness-enhancing resource for German automotive industry suppliers. The respondent small business managers also indicate that there is a trend toward more electronic information within the firms. Consequently, there is potential to find it difficult to utilize this data effectively in terms of producing useful knowledge/analytics. Perhaps as a partial consequence, the results support the proposition that whilst information itself is not rare, it is rarely organized in ways that create knowledge or analytics for the firm. This may be partly linked to the prerequisite of ICT and IM for maximizing information use. The results in terms of the role and level of IEI for specific business functions suggest that whilst businesses focus on the areas of most relevance to building competitive advantage, there may also be gaps in knowledge use for certain important functions. This article concludes that in order to avoid a more significant information gap developing, SMAS in most areas need to build on their current practices and level of information sophistication. Further statistical analyses need to be carried out, in terms of the limitations of the sample size, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying constructs within the collected data. This will allow the research to further underpin the proposition of the strategic potential of information. Future research could also assess the needs and gaps of SMEs for the purpose of taking advantage of these information opportunities and establishing an organizational information readiness. Nevertheless, this investigation has made a contribution to knowledge in a number of areas. Specifically, highlighting the information opportunities within SMEs that supply the Bavarian automotive industry. More broadly, it has introduced and tested the ROVI framework and demonstrated that for SMEs (in this case in the automotive industry) that information itself may often not be scarce, but may not be organized in ways that maximize the value for the firm, for reasons linked to the lack of ICT and IM resources. As such, the development of guidelines for better information exploitation would encourage policy makers, academics, and practitioners alike to realize the benefits that this inexpensive asset entails and bridge the information literacy gap (De Saulles, 2007).