OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS INFORMATION
An understanding of the special forms and structure of business information will promote the effective utilization of it, whether for a marketing plan, term paper, competitive analysis, or any other research project. The very fact that business information is used as a profit-making tool is the driving force behind many publications. Often information is available simply because it is so saleable and desirable. As Michael Lavin puts it,
Literally, any type of business information can be published, no matter how unlikely. Since information can be the key to business success, managers are usually willing to pay for it when the need arises. . . . Never assume information is unavailable just because its existence seems unreasonable. (Lavin 1992, 6-7)
However, as Lavin also points out, some information is proprietary, very expensive, and available only to bona-fide subscribers, citing two well-known examples in the Arbitron radio and television ratings and the Multiple Listing Service used by realtors (Lavin 1992, 5). Some information can also be so valuable that it is effectively unavailable to the average researcher. It helps to ask oneself: Why would someone provide a certain piece of information? What is its value to someone using it to make money? Is it particularly time- or labor-intensive to gather,
valuable for profit making purposes, and/or competitive positioning? If so, it is likely to be expensive. At the other end of the spectrum, if it is likely to be useful to a government agency for economic or regulatory reasons, then it may be available at no charge.
The foregoing factors have important implications for the ease of locating and using business information. First and foremost, there is a huge volume of it. Second, its sources are fragmented, ranging from government agencies, to commercial publishers, to professional associations, to other advocacy groups. Frustratingly, the most valuable information may be proprietary, or at the least, very expensive (Butler and Diamond 2001).
Generally, business information is most useful when it is current and timely. There is a life cycle to business information that dictates the type of “packet” in which it appears. Thinking about information in terms of its stage in the life cycle can be helpful in discovering where to look for
a particular item. Both timeliness and reliability have a high value, and to some extent there is an inverse relationship between these two dimensions.
At the earliest stages of the information life cycle, such as raw news and press releases, timeliness presents the greatest value but reliability may be low. With the Internet, raw data are disseminated continuously and easily but, as most people understand, with questionable reliability. As a piece of information moves along its life cycle, there is time for discussion and verification. At the next stage, the information appears in business newspapers, magazines, and newsletters, with added commentary and data (Ojala 1996, 79). Eventually, it may end up in a
book, scholarly journal article, or published in a conference proceeding.
An understanding of the special forms and structure of business information will promote the effective utilization of it, whether for a marketing plan, term paper, competitive analysis, or any other research project. The very fact that business information is used as a profit-making tool is the driving force behind many publications. Often information is available simply because it is so saleable and desirable. As Michael Lavin puts it,
Literally, any type of business information can be published, no matter how unlikely. Since information can be the key to business success, managers are usually willing to pay for it when the need arises. . . . Never assume information is unavailable just because its existence seems unreasonable. (Lavin 1992, 6-7)
However, as Lavin also points out, some information is proprietary, very expensive, and available only to bona-fide subscribers, citing two well-known examples in the Arbitron radio and television ratings and the Multiple Listing Service used by realtors (Lavin 1992, 5). Some information can also be so valuable that it is effectively unavailable to the average researcher. It helps to ask oneself: Why would someone provide a certain piece of information? What is its value to someone using it to make money? Is it particularly time- or labor-intensive to gather,
valuable for profit making purposes, and/or competitive positioning? If so, it is likely to be expensive. At the other end of the spectrum, if it is likely to be useful to a government agency for economic or regulatory reasons, then it may be available at no charge.
The foregoing factors have important implications for the ease of locating and using business information. First and foremost, there is a huge volume of it. Second, its sources are fragmented, ranging from government agencies, to commercial publishers, to professional associations, to other advocacy groups. Frustratingly, the most valuable information may be proprietary, or at the least, very expensive (Butler and Diamond 2001).
Generally, business information is most useful when it is current and timely. There is a life cycle to business information that dictates the type of “packet” in which it appears. Thinking about information in terms of its stage in the life cycle can be helpful in discovering where to look for
a particular item. Both timeliness and reliability have a high value, and to some extent there is an inverse relationship between these two dimensions.
At the earliest stages of the information life cycle, such as raw news and press releases, timeliness presents the greatest value but reliability may be low. With the Internet, raw data are disseminated continuously and easily but, as most people understand, with questionable reliability. As a piece of information moves along its life cycle, there is time for discussion and verification. At the next stage, the information appears in business newspapers, magazines, and newsletters, with added commentary and data (Ojala 1996, 79). Eventually, it may end up in a
book, scholarly journal article, or published in a conference proceeding.
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