Capacité d’absorption des informations et pratiques de veille stratégique dans les PME: une étude sur des domaines vitivinicoles provençaux

Abstract

A large part of the research on business intelligence focused on “weak signals” interpretation or issues related to data overabundance. The way firms differently use data collection mechanisms developed to this end remains understudied. This tends to neglect business intelligence as being the result of several formal and informal processes to which actors may differently pay attention. By referring back to researches relative to the ACAP model, this article examines absorptive capabilities of strategic informations in the wine industry. The qualitative research design is mainly based on 20 semi-directive interviews conducted in the Provence wine industry. Results reveal that these wineries give only little attention to information coming from organisms of coordination. However, they favor information collected through formal and informal relations they maintain in their current activity with other companies of industry. The discussion part enriches the ACAP model by putting forward how the potential absorptive capacity of strategic information by an organisation can be the consequence of its “experience” and “similarity” with other actors of its environment (suppliers, customers, competitors, etc.), rather than the consequence of the integration mechanisms set up by organisms of coordination. In terms of practical contributions, our study also specifies concepts of similarity and experience by integrating them to notions of territorial membership and geographical proximity which appear as supports to the absorption capacity of the information of companies.