Info Need and Supply Gaps

8/8/2019 Info Need and Supply Gaps

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LOGO

Information supply and Information

needs gaps

Two examples of cases where there are strong differencesbetween information supply and information needs in an

organisation.


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INFORMATIONData that have been shaped into a form that is meaningful and useful to humans

ORGANISATION

INFORMATIONNEEDS

INFORMATIONSUPPLY


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C ase 1: Engineers and the Web

Study of Engineers in SMEs working on NPD (new product development)

Information need and supply gap exists in different phases of the NP

Research

NewProduct

Develop

InformationAcquisition

Phase

InformationUtilisationPhase

Info Need vs. Supply

Gap

Barrier

Opportunity

Info Need vs. Supply

Gap

Unsolvedinformation gap

remains


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General View of Engineers Need vs. Supply

General Information Need

Broad spectrum of information :

market

technological

organizational knowledge

(Faulkener & Senker, 1995)

InformationSource/Supply

Customers and suppliers(Jetter, Kraaijenbrink, Schro der, & Wijnhoven,

2005; Johnson & Kuehn, 1987;White, Bennett, &Shipsey, 1982) .

Preferred Sources

Personal over impersonal(McGee & Sawyerr, 2003; Tenopir & King,

2004) ,

Informal over formal(Julien, 1995; Tenopir & King, 2004) ,

Internal over external(Robertson, 1974) .

Decision Points

Accessibility(Fidel & Green, 2004;

Gerstberger & Allen,1968)

Trust(Hertzum2002)

Taskcomplexity

(Bystrom & Jarvelin,1995)

Minimizingeffort

(Hardy, 1982) .


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Information Acquisition Gap in NPD

Information Need

Vague, looking for inspiration

Information that doesnt yetexist

Specific but from a distinctviewpoint

Not only documents, peoplebut also physical productsand components

Info from a particular person

Immediate access

Info about the product rather than the actual product

Information Supply

Specific but helped uncover new information

Specific info not categorised in the way engineerswere looking

Information and ordering in separate domains

Persons in organisations not traceable

Info about the actual product

New OpportunityFurther develop this to createcompetitive advantage

Barriers

Property right


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Information Utilization Gap in NPD

Information Need

U sing information from another domain

Low or high level of aggregation

Constant interplay betweenapplication, function and form

Engineers require functions for solutions

Correct, complete and certaininformation

Information that can becompared

Information Supply

Solutions for specific domains

Information aggregated at a differentlevel to the need

Known form of the solution but notknown the function to reach thesolution

Information perceived by the user and

claimed by the source

Information provided is not the exactlyneeded

Information that had to betranslated in order to be

compared

The Gap

Domain

constraints

Aggregation level

Abstractionlevel

Quality


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C ase 2: Folk Music Users and digital librarysystem

Study of information needs of users andthe implications for designing a digital

library system


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C auses

Information need Information supply

Difficult to define and

satisfy

Variables e.g. social,work environment

Level of intelligenceof seeker

Quality of informationrequired

Quantity of information

Situational-gap-use

Account for psychological,affective and cognitive

need of users

Account for variables

Account for users

intelligence levels

Ordering and structuringthe supply of information


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Solutions

Conducting an interview with users of the library. The informationneeds grouped by:

Subject and NatureFunctionDate

Speed of DeliveryV iewpointPackaging

Should be user centered rather than collection centered

C ollaborative recommendation system

Metadata should be fully descriptive

Full cataloguing

Use-tagging where materials are tagged with their uses

Information Supply

Information Needs


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C onclusion

Despite abundance of information available today, gaps continue toexist between user information need and supply due to someelements that can be highlighted below

Aggregation, categorisation, abstraction level of information notmatching user needsQuality not matching requirement

Lack of consideration for users intelligence level, psychological,affective and cognitive needsSolution to fill the gap maybe to offer new dimensions such as below

Collaborative recommendation systems where people can getinformation from other peopleU se tagging to create link between information and its application

However as information need and supply increase are notnecessarily in synch, careful evaluation of users needs in order tosatisfy their requirement to supply the relevant information continuesto be key


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References

Case StudiesKaraaijenbrink, J (2006). Engineers and the Web: An analysis of real life gaps in information usage. Information Processing and Management, 45 (2007),1368-1382Inskip, C et al (2007). A study of information needs of the users of a folk music library and the implications for the design of a digital library system.Information Processing and Management, 44 (2008), 647-662.

Others:Bystrm, K., & Jrvelin, K. (1995). Task complexity affects information seeking and use. Information Processing & Management, 31(2), 191213.Faulkner, W., & Senker, J. (1995). K nowledge frontiers: public sector research and industrial innovation in biotechnology, engineering,ceramics, and

parallel computing . Oxford: Clarendon PressFidel, R., & Green, M. (2004). The many faces of accessibili ty: engineers perception of information sources. Information Processing & Management, 40,

563581Gerstberger, P. G., & Allen, T. J. (1968). Criteria used by research and development engineers in the selection of an information source . Journal of

Applied Psychology, 52(4), 272279.Hardy, A. P. (1982). The selection of channels when seeking information: cost/benefit vs least-effort. Information Processing & Management, 18(6), 289293.Hertzum, M. (2002). The importance of trust in software engineers assessment and choice of information sources. Information & Organization, 12, 118.Jetter, A., Kraaijenbrink, J., Schrder, H.-H., & Wijnhoven, F. (2005). K nowledge integration: the practice of knowledge management in small and mediumenterprises . Heidelberg: Physica- V erlag.Johnson, J. L., & Kuehn, R. (1987). The small business owner/managers search for external information. Journal of Small Business Management, 25(3),5360.

Julien, P.-A. (1995). New technologies and technological information in small businesses. Journal of Business Venturing, 10, 459475.McGee, J. E., & Sawyerr, O. O. (2003). U ncertainty and information search activities: a study of ownermanagers of small high-technology manufacturingfirms. Journal of Small Business Management, 41(4), 385401.Robertson, A. (1974). Behaviour patterns of scientists and engineers in information seeking for problem solving. ASLIB Proceedings, 26(10), 384390.Tenopir, C., & King, D. W . (2004). C ommunication patterns of engineers . Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press.White, B., Bennett, R., & Shipsey, R. (1982). Information and the small manufacturing firm . Edinburgh: Capital Planning Information Limited.Laudon, K.C., Laudon, J.Management Information Systems, Sixth Edition (2000)


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Info Need and Supply Gaps