Business information sources: frequency, relevance and reliability analysis, based on empirical study with business and organizational managers

摘要

This paper reports a study of the information behavior of entrepreneurs and managers of small, medium and large companies, concerning to the choice of information sources to solve their organizational needs. The methodology was based on a quantitative study of a descriptive nature, with 67 interviews conducted by non- probabilistic sample. The results showed differences between the choices and analysis of respondents about the 34 business information sources defined by Mafra Pereira and Barbosa (2009), and there is not a positive correlation between the most accessed sources and the most relevant and reliable sources. In addition, the strictly electronic information sources tend to be the most accessible, while the personal sources are considered the most relevant, and the internal organizational sources are considered the most reliable.