Abstract
AbstractThis study set out to investigate how personal user traits and behavior and information cues influence the acquisition of online information for actionable decisions. The relationship between personal traits (risk propensity and individual information absorptive capacity), behavioral factors (perceived risk and willingness-to-pay) and informational cues (scenario risk level) was examined by conducting an experiment with 125 mid-level managers. Participants were exposed to high- and low-risk scenarios, given the opportunity to consume free and fee-based competitive information sources, and asked to make a managerial decision. Results of the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for information sources indicate: (i) a significant correlation between the perceived risk and WTP, (ii) a significant correlation between the perceived risk and the number of competitive intelligence information items bought, (iii) individual absorptive capacity has high internal reliability, and (iv) investment risk propensity and individual information absorptive capacity did not influence WTP or willingness-to-consume competitive intelligence information. Informational cues rather than personal traits impact decision makers' WTP and willingness to-consume competitive intelligence information. This suggests that best practices should be developed for the use of online information sources in decision-making calibrated to the risk level. Risk level indication may also aid to avoid biases stemming from under- or overuse of information.
Highlights
The definition of Competitive Intelligence (CI) has evolved over the years; common to most definitions is the intense focus on collecting and handling information with a lesser focus on assessing its actual contribution to decision makers (Markovich, Efrat, & Raban, 2016)
In the present research we studied the information behavior of decision makers by examining the relationship between risk perception, risk propensity and individual absorptive capacity (IACAP) and the participants’ WTP and willingness-to-purchase CI information items
The analysis results indicate that the Information Behavior (IB) of decision makers is more dependent on the informational cues of the decision situation itself than the personal characteristics of the decision maker
Summary
The definition of Competitive Intelligence (CI) has evolved over the years; common to most definitions is the intense focus on collecting and handling information with a lesser focus on assessing its actual contribution to decision makers (Markovich, Efrat, & Raban, 2016). We aim to start clarifying whether the use of online information for actionable decisions is related to personal traits or to informational cues. We examine the relationship between risk propensity and individual information absorptive capacity (personal traits), scenario risk level (informational cues), and perceived risk and willingness-to-pay (behavioral factors). Rouach and Santi (2001) defined ‘competitive intelligence’ as “the art of locating, collecting, processing and storing information to be made available at all levels in the firm, with a view to shaping its future, and protecting against competitive threat”.
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