THE ROLE OF EXTERNAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION AS A DYNAMIC FACTOR OF COMPETITIVENESS AND PERFORMANCE FOR SMES

摘要

To be able to innovate, to learn and to be flexible are fundamental characteristics for the survival of organizations in society's changing environment. An innovative organization is always able to incorporate new knowledge in the creation of new products and services, as well as various organizational processes. On the other hand, information is a key factor in the innovation process. New knowledge is created within a process that includes the analysis and interpretation of information. Any company, independent of its size or sector of activity, increasingly needs to have access to available information, but even more needs to have the ability to process, interpret and transform that information into knowledge and innovation.