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

• Main Authors: Agnieszka Kuś, Paula Pypłacz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: Social Sciences
• Subjects: information management; internal information system of enterprises; Forbes Diamonds 2018; Kuyavian-Pomeranian enterprises; Industry 4.0
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/6/169

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.