Organizational Culture and Patterns of Information Processing: The Case of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

Organizational agriculture represents the best available "lubricant" that permits small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to function evenly and effectively. Information and the way it is mustered processed and used by the business is more and more critically decisive in an ever-changing environment. This might especially be the case in small and medium-sized firms. Information search and processing exhibit important determinants of performance and may signify critical lock opener success factors for SMEs in their growing proces This application of mind examines four cultural categories: clan, adhocracy, hierarchy and market-driven and their impact upon patterns of the information processing of SME proceeds from a random sample of 242 SME indicate that tillage has a significant impact upon various dimensions of information processing of that kind as information search scope, formality, flexibility as well as organizational responsiveness. This research highlights the importance of maintaining appropriate organizational tillage and matching it with the external environment.

Key words: Organizational tillage information processing, SMEs

Researchers have devot considerable effort in examining the impact of micro behavioral (i.e., entrepreneurial personality and personal profile) (Begley & Boyd 1987; Honig, 2001; Shaver et al., 2001; Stevenson & Jarillo-Mossi, 1986) as well as contextual variables (i.e., social network, infrastructure, industry and regulation support, environmental conditions) on the development and financial performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Birckley & Dark, 1987; Castrogiovanni & Justice, 2002) However, reviews of SME performance literature reveal that no clear or consistent conclusions have however been reached. From a combination of parts to form a whole perspective, most of the existing studies anchor upon "input-output" mechanistic links in the words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following of SMEs. Therefore, one of the reasons for the inconclusiveness is the omission of proces ultimate parts most importantly the processes of information scanning, interpreting and formulating organizational reply Researchers using an information-processing paradigm have drawn out argued that the match between environmental conditions and the pattern of information processing leads to superior organizational performance.

Stoica and Schindehutte (1999) analyzed the relationship between adaptability and performance using an information processing approach. They identified a relationship between organizational tillage and adaptability, but did not establish the specific dimensions of agriculture that most directly affect adaptability and its various composings They suggested this topic as an important direction for further research. This not away study takes the culture-adaptability relationship a pace further. It aims to strip the relationship between information processing, as a constituent of firm's adaptability, and the different emblems of organizational culture within SME Specifically, this inquiry addresses the following two important research questions: What are the main composings of the information process within SMEs? Do the patterns of information processing in SME vary across different organizational cultures? The inquiry should therefore contribute to the understanding of the composite relationships involving behavioral differences in information processing among SMEs

Theoretical Background

A general consensus in the literature is that the treatment of by what mode information and knowledge is produc assimilated, transferred and used within organizations is les than adequate (Menon & Varadarajan, 1992; Sinkula, 1994) especially in the words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following of SMEs. Nevertheless, information processing and its related decisionmaking proces are critical for SME in a changing environment in bourns of how they respond to the external threats and opportunities. The bourns information, intelligence, and knowledge are sometimes used alternatively to direct to similar phenomenon. Jaworski and Kohli (1993) defined competitive intelligence as the ethical gathering and use of publicly or semi-publicly available information about customers, competitors, yields industry, and business environment. It is similar to the universal of intelligence generation and gathering introduced through Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumar (1993) Narver and Slater (1990) unfolded scales to measure the universal of market orientation. Both used information processing as a lock opener element for their scales. The general [i]or[/i] abstract notion of market orientation is one-dimensional for Narver and Slater (1990) and three-dimensional for Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumar (1993) which include integrating intelligence generation, intelligence dissemination and resnonsiveness.

Understanding by what mode organizations acquire, scan, process, and use market information has preoccupied many researchers (Gudmundson Tower, & Hartman, 2001) Three streams of research have been identified upon this topic (Sinkula, 1994). First, the organizational learning stream was the focus of a hardly any articles (Daft & March, 1987; Dixon, 1992) next to the first information use in organizations was investigated by means of Deshpande and Webster (1989), Deshpande, Parley, and Webster (1993) Glazer (1991) and Glazer and Weiss (1993) Finally, the way knowledge is produc and used was the make subordinate of Kohli and Jaworski (1990) Menon and Varadarajan (1992) Myers, Massy, and Greyser (1980) among others. However, greatest in quantity of these studies were mainly theoretical. universals and models were developed and several propositions have been advanced. on the other hand little empirical support has been offered