Environmental Scanning and Information Sharing Mechanisms of SMEs

Due to intense competition and rapid changes happening in the marketplace, business environment is increasingly becoming volatile and uncertain. As a result, the ability to conduct effective environmental scanning is becoming critical for organizations to survive and succeed. This study investigates environmental scanning and information sharing practices of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. A pre-tested questionnaire was sent out, and 45 SMEs from 4 industries participated. It was found that a majority of the companies perceived environmental information as critical, and conduct systematic environmental scanning activities. The management level of SMEs had become aware of the importance of information sharing, and efforts had been made to avoid information hoarding. Moreover, SMEs from various industry domains seemed to have different scanning strategies and manners, in terms of preferences over information sources and distribution channels. Suggestions are also provided to increase the effectiveness of environmental scanning, as the collected information may not be disseminated to the end-users in a timely manner.