The Importance of Information Management in the Context of Industry 4.0: Evidence from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Forbes Diamonds

Agnieszka Kuś,Paula Pypłacz

doi:10.3390/socsci8060169

Abstract

Currently, the role of information and of the tools facilitating its acquisition and processing is so significant that, in the economic nomenclature, there are already such concepts as an information civilization or information society. The aftermath of this state of affairs is the commercial breakthrough consisting of the enterprise’s success on the intellectual capital rather than the material one. This article aims to show the outline of the information management process and to determine how its components are used in companies. The first part of the paper is devoted to the description of information management concepts in enterprises and the functioning of organizational information systems. The second part of the study includes the results of original research carried out using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method on the 70 Kuyavian-Pomeranian enterprises counted among the Forbes Diamonds 2018. An analysis of the obtained results indicates that the level of diversity of methods and frequencies of information channels used depends on the size of the entity, its capital structure, and the industry in which they operate. The primary sources of information for the surveyed companies are customers and competitors. The respondents agree that a well-functioning enterprise information system facilitates making decisions in the company and improves internal communication. The most frequently implemented development strategy in the analyzed companies is the market development strategy.

Highlights

Modern business entities operating under conditions of high competition and feeling the consequences of globalization processes are paying more and more attention to increasing the attractiveness of the wares they offer and selecting the most optimal business model
Most of the information collected by increasingly important in the face of technological and communication challenges, because of which companies is of a marketing nature; besides the information system, fact of having the right information, or the effectiveness use, translate directly into itthe is recommended to operate a strictly marketing information system of in its enterprises
In order to identify important elements used in the information management process, a questionnaire was created comprising five thematic issues—the importance of the enterprise information systems (EIS); methods used by the enterprise for getting selected information; the frequency of knowledge and information sources used; entities that are the dominant source of information; as well as the functioning of a market information system (MIS) along with the implemented strategy

Summary

Introduction

Modern business entities operating under conditions of high competition and feeling the consequences of globalization processes are paying more and more attention to increasing the attractiveness of the wares they offer and selecting the most optimal business model. Maintaining a competitive position on the market is increasingly dependent on the information resources available and the skills needed to manage them. It has often been emphasized that information is the fourth, and often the key, factor of production in the modern enterprise. This state of affairs results from the fact that information is a fundamental pillar in making the right decisions and carrying out comparative analyses in the company.

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Conclusion