Internal Electronic Information as a Competitiveness-Enhancing Resource in German Automotive Industry Suppliers

In German automotive industry suppliers, internal electronic information (IEI) satisfies the requirements of being a competitiveness-enhancing resource. Whilst information itself is not scarce, it is rarely organized in ways that creates knowledge or can be used for analytics for the firm. In terms of the role and level of IEI for specific business functions of relevance to building competitive advantage, there may be gaps in knowledge use for certain important functions. In order to avoid a significant information gap, small and medium-sized automotive industry suppliers (SMAS) in South East Germany need to build on their current practices and level of information sophistication.