Information Literacy and Knowledgeas Factors in Entrepreneurial Failure and Success

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Information Literacy and Knowledgeas Factors in Entrepreneurial Failure and Success

by Edward B. Sadowski and Malcolm H. Brantz

AbstractEntrepreneurial lack of knowledge is a major contributor to preventable business failure. Knowledge is in great part dependent on research and information literacy skills, as well as knowing when information is needed. Understanding how to acquire knowledge and access information includes awareness of various assistance and information resources and the ability to use the resources, such as Small Business Development Centers, libraries, and the Internet. The lack of business knowledge and information literacy is in part a failure of the educational system to specifically teach business information literacy skills.

Edward B. Sadowski, MLSReference/Info Literacy LibrarianWeber Center for Learning Resources, Arapahoe Community CollegeCampus Box 16, 5900 S. Santa Fe Drive, P.O. Box 9002Littleton, CO 80160-9002ed.sadowski@arapahoe.edu 303-797-5729

Malcolm H. Brantz, MLS, MBADirectorWeber Center for Learning Resources, Arapahoe Community CollegeCampus Box 16, 5900 S. Santa Fe Drive, P.O. Box 9002Littleton, CO 80160-9002malcolm.brantz@arapahoe.edu 303-797-5739

Keywords:

assistance, bankruptcy, business failures, information literacy, knowledge, small business

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Introduction

The high rate of failure for small businesses is unnecessary and preventable

(Thomson-South-Western, 2007; Jordan, 2006).The causes of business failure are

multifactorial, internally- and externally-based. Internal causes can include

“entrepreneurial personality,” lack of knowledge, and management/strategic decisions

(Korgaonkar, 2006; Jordan, 2006; Carter and Van Auken, 2006; Teske, 1990; Small

Business Development Center, n.d.). External causes consist of macroeconomic factors

and conditions and the entrepreneurial environment, in part a product of public policies

and economic development planning (Everett, 2004; Bernier, n.d.). Unlike external

causes, internal contributors to business failure are largely within the control of the

entrepreneur.

There is undoubtedly a dynamic interplay between the internal factors of

entrepreneurial personality, knowledge, and managerial performance. The literature is

fraught with identification of the components of business knowledge, such as skills in

planning, market research, accounting, cash flow, and pricing strategy. This paper does

not delve into these factors per se, but instead the authors choose to focus on the

information literacy aspect of knowledge as an important contributor to failure or success

for small business. Simply put, information literacy begets knowledge, which begets

success.

Information Literacy

Information literacy is about the process and tools of obtaining information and

knowledge. Paul Zurkowski, president of the Information Industry Association, is credited

with first using the term information literacy in 1974 (Warnken, 2004). Zurkowski defined

information literates as people “trained in the application of information resources to

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their work […]. They have learned techniques and skills for utilizing the wide range of

information tools as well as primary sources in molding information solutions to their

problems.” (as cited in Hoppner, n.d., p. 26). The rise of the computer and the Internet

have “exponentially expanded the way information literacy is applied.” (Darrow &

MacDonald, 2004, p. 21). While information literacy is in great part computer-related, it

should not be confused with computer or technology literacy. In 1998, the American

Library Association [ALA] Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, defined

information literacy as follows: "To be information literate, a person must be able to

recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use

effectively the needed information." The ALA further states: “Ultimately, information

literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn

because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to

use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people

prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for

any task or decision at hand.” The ALA’s Association of College and Research Libraries

[ACRL] states that “information literacy encompasses more than good information-

seeking behavior. It incorporates the abilities to recognize when information is needed

and then to phrase questions designed to gather the needed information. It includes

evaluating and then using information appropriately and ethically once it is retrieved from

any media, including electronic, human or print sources.” (2001). A definition by

Christine Susan Bruce (1999, p. 34) states:

Information literacy is about people’s ability to operate effectively in an information

society. This involves critical thinking, an awareness of personal and professional

ethics, information evaluation, conceptualizing information needs, organizing

information, interacting with information professionals, and making effective use of

information in problem solving, decision making, and research.

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 5 of 22

Information literacy has been equated, or said to overlap, with other intellectual

abilities. Sometimes “critical thinking skills” is used interchangeably with information

literacy, and, in fact, is a preferred term by some (Whyte, 2004). One definition of critical

thinking seems to hit a big part of what entrepreneurial information literacy entails: “It

comes down to reflective decision-making and thoughtful problem-solving about what to

do or believe. You know, analyze the situation, evaluate claims, draw good inferences,

supply sound reasons, and check to make sure you haven't missed something

important." (Facione & Facione, 2007). Perhaps information literacy is, more accurately,

a major subset of critical thinking. Nevertheless, the universal complaint of an

inadequate educational system producing an inept workforce applies equally to the lack

of information literacy and critical thinking skills.

In addition, information literacy is seen by some as being related to the field of

personal knowledge management (PKM), either as a component of the broader area of

PKM, or as a type of PKM, where PKM emphasizes communication and the structuring

of information (Schreiber & Harbo, 2004). For entrepreneurs, personal knowledge

management is important beyond information literacy, because of the greater need of

professionals and entrepreneurs (compared to students) to structure, integrate and

control information into a knowledge base and to collaborate with partners and advisors.

This structuring and collaborative function of personal knowledge management was first

enunciated by Christine Bruce (1997, 1999, as cited in Schreiber & Harbo, 2004) and by

Carol Kuhlthau (1993, 1999, as cited in Schreiber & Harbo, 2004).

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 6 of 22

Information Literacy and Knowledge in Business

In the above explanations of information literacy, “information literate people” can be

substituted with “information literate entrepreneurs” to underscore the relevance and

importance of information literacy to small business. The need for information literacy is

magnified for small business because the typical entrepreneur, compared to the large

corporation, does not have the time, expertise, or resources to solve problems or

maximize growth through optimum use of information. This is all the more crucial

because small business is vitally important to the nation. Small business is commonly

referred to as the backbone, the lifeblood of the community, as the engine that drives the

economy. It’s been pointed out that small businesses are responsible for the vast

majority of new jobs in the local community, generating 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs

annually over the last decade, employing half of all private sector employees. Small

businesses are essential for developing a strong economy through job creation,

economic diversification and tax base expansion (Kauten, Simms, & Yolton, 2005).

“Entrepreneurship has emerged over the last two decades as arguably the most potent

economic force the world has ever experienced.” (Kuratko, 2005). Small business is

“American self-reliance at its best.” (Cornwall, 2004).

A wider concept of information literacy—that of information behavior going beyond

mere library skills—is particularly important to business success. Knowledge and

information literacy are intertwined as essential co-factors, two sides of the same coin.

Sometimes overlooked is the critical part of the definition of information literacy, the

“recognition of the information need.” (Bundy, 2002). This is a crucial and subtle

expansion of a simple way of looking at information literacy as merely information-

seeking or research skills (which are more oriented to classroom exercises, as opposed

to “real world” contingencies)—a broader approach embodied by the ALA and ACRL

definitions of information literacy that include recognition of a need for information and

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 7 of 22

being able to determine the nature and extent of information needed. This broader vision

of information literacy goes beyond a mechanistic checklist or recipe approach taken by

some of the earlier formulations of information literacy (Johnston & Webber, 2003). A

more holistic definition states that information literacy “expands, reframes or creates new

knowledge by integrating prior knowledge and new understandings…” (Council of

Australian University Librarians, 2001). If a business is floundering or not realizing its

potential, that certainly could be indicative of an unmet need for information or even a

lack of recognition or understanding of the need for information. For the entrepreneur, as

indeed for any vocation or discipline, information literacy is a set of skills greatly

inseparable from a foundational knowledge base of a field—that of entrepreneurship and

business management. Entrepreneurial knowledge by itself is a requisite to information

literacy skills, two distinct domains blended as one.

Information literacy has not been explicitly mentioned in the literature of business

research, but knowledge, as its co-factor, is often offered as a succinct answer to the

question why businesses fail, especially in the popular, how-to literature aimed at the

budding entrepreneur: “The major missing ingredient is knowledge.” (Jordan 2006).

“Today’s entrepreneurs must be knowledgeable in many areas.” (Doescher, 1984.) Or,

as Peter Drucker put it, "Entrepreneurship is 'risky' mainly because so few of the so-

called entrepreneurs know what they are doing. They lack the methodology. They violate

elementary and well-known rules.” (1985, p. 29). Drucker was one of the first thinkers to

focus on the importance of information in a business context. Drucker pointed out that

we are now in the knowledge- and information-based “new economy,” where information

is replacing authority as the primary tool for business decisions (1993).

That knowledge is important for business success is a bit of unscientific-sounding

conventional wisdom frequently cited by experts, and a truism that common sense would

seem to dictate even in non-expert casual observers. Yet this conclusion was borne out

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empirically in a survey of bankrupt firms where lack of knowledge was identified as one

of the main factors contributing to the demise of the businesses (Carter & Van Auken,

2006). According to Dun and Bradstreet, 90 percent of business failures is due to

incompetent management (Doescher, 1984), “due to a lack of skills and knowledge”

(Redwood, n.d.). Competence is a function of knowledge, if we equate knowledge with

competence. Furthermore, a lack of knowledge as a cause of business failure is borne

out by a wealth of inquiries, even though the term knowledge is not always used in the

research terminology. As Bruno and Leidecker point out, “Research findings indicate that

business failure results from definable causes.” (1998, p. 1). It is clearly indisputable that

much or most of these definable causes can be traced to a lack of knowledge.

Entrepreneurship is knowledge-intensive work, and for a business to succeed

and thrive today, the business must depend on critical information—“information is an

essential commodity for survival,” (Doherty 1999), “the leading business asset,” (Kanter,

2003, p.23), essential for providing a significant strategic advantage for success in the

competitive environment (Rosenberg, 2002; Kanter, 1996). Lack of information literacy

skills can be costly to a business, resulting in operational inefficiency and loss of

business opportunities (Cheuk, 2002). That knowledge is related to the processing and

availability of information is a finding echoed in a number of studies of bankruptcy

(Carter and Van Auken, 2006; Gaskill, Van Auken, & Manning, 1993; and Perry, 2001).

“The availability of information is critically important for good decisions in all aspects of

business operations.” (Carter & Van Auken, 2006).

Research Skills as a Component of Information Literacy

Business knowledge is greatly dependent on fresh information which is

dependent on research. Research is a key tool in the business-planning process.

Without research, money and time are wasted and planning is delayed (Phelps, 2007).

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 9 of 22

“Entrepreneurial research and preparation can significantly reduce failure rates by as

much as 50 percent.” (US Small Business Administration, n.d.). The Internet has

become the omnipresent ready, do-it-yourself tool for business research. Carter and Van

Auken found that businesses that fell into bankruptcy were less likely to use the Internet

than successful businesses (2006). A 2004 survey of business executives found that two

thirds of respondents felt it was difficult or impossible to do their jobs without Web-based

search tools. The same study estimated that $31 billion was wasted in time because of

flawed online searching (Enterprise Search Center).

Competent research requires information literacy skills. An information literate

business researcher is clear about what is needed to be found and where to find the

answers (Phelps, 2007). The information literate business researcher is aware of a

variety of resources for business information—print, online (both free and fee-based),

and experts and customers available through direct contact. Experts include consultants

and agencies (free and fee-based), information brokers and librarians.

Information Literacy and Business Education

According to O’Sullivan, “there is little evidence that businesses are addressing

the information literacy gap on a micro level.” (2002). Critical thinking and continuing

education skills are key to business success. One approach to combat business

information illiteracy would be to start in the educational systems that produce

entrepreneurs, for that is where the information literacy gap in business stems from in

large part—and building a foundation of information literacy to prepare the entrepreneur

for the business world. Researchers have stated that business school education on both

the undergraduate and graduate levels is failing to teaching students information literacy

skills (Lavin & Johnson, 2005; Roldan & Wu, 2004; Lombardo & Miree, 2003; Murry,

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 10 of 22

McKee & Hammons, 1997; Hawes, 1994; Keating, 1991). If business school students

are information illiterate, how can the everyday entrepreneur who has not received

entrepreneurship education be expected to be information literate?

What is being done to improve the information literacy of entrepreneurs?

Education of any kind is beneficial to the entrepreneur. The ability to find information is

an integral part of learning and receiving an education. Some level of information literacy

is required to get through the educational experience, just as knowing the fundamentals

of reading and writing is a necessity. Failure rates of business correlate with the

educational level of entrepreneurs (Bruderl, Preisendorfer, & Ziegler, 1992).

The further along the educational process a student traverses, the more knowledge and

information literacy skills a student can be expected to acquire, benefiting the

entrepreneur. The entrepreneur receives an additional advantage from information

literacy training, which has permeated higher education. Information literacy instruction,

which goes beyond mere bibliographic instruction, taught by librarians, has redefined

traditional education to include the computer revolution and the Internet.

Much information literacy instruction is geared to English and humanities

students, teaching research methods to write various types of essays. These

instructional sessions have limited usefulness for the business student, whose needs for

knowledge and research skills inhabit a different universe of specialized literature and

resources that are not easily accessible. Business instructors, while acknowledging the

importance of information literacy, mistakenly assume the information literacy skills

obtained in English classes adequately prepare business students for research in the

area of business (Lombardo & Miree, 2003). The experience of the authors of this article

shows that business faculty seldom avail themselves of information literacy instruction

on their own, less so than faculty in other academic disciplines. Other findings show that

collaboration between information literacy instructors and business faculty is

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 11 of 22

widespread, but used moderately, and not fully utilized (Cooney, 2005). Effective

solutions would be for librarians to proactively design business-specific teaching

modules, group research projects and other collaborative efforts that include learning

assessments to assist faculty, as has been done in accounting, finance, marketing and

other business courses (Cunningham & Anderson, 2005; Cooney & Hiris, 2003; Fiegen,

Cherry, & Watson, 2002; Sterngold & Hurlbert, 1998).

Information literacy training in colleges, in order to reach the widest number of

students, is broadly-based and meant to encompass all academic disciplines, even

though instructors try to gear and customize the sessions to individual classes. In order

to achieve more precision and relevance, information literacy instruction has begun to

develop competency standards for college students that are subject-specific. In 2004 the

ACRL prepared a draft of competency standards for literature in English, and in 2006

standards were published by the ACRL for the fields of science and engineering. No

such ACRL standards have yet been published for business and the social sciences. A

separate, grant-funded initiative, The Project for Standardized Assessment of

Information Literacy Skills (SAILS), has developed discipline-specific tests for biology,

communications studies, education, and history, but nothing so far for business.

Similarly, corporations have not yet formally recognized information literacy as a core

competency for their workers, despite acknowledging the importance of “knowledge

workers.” (Klusek & Bornstein, 2006).

Entrepreneurial knowledge and information literacy have been boosted by the

growth of entrepreneurial education. Educational systems that now embrace

entrepreneurship as a serious academic discipline is a step in the right direction to build

entrepreneurial knowledge (Cone, 2007; Kuratko, 2005). Entrepreneurship has begun to

have been integrated in the education of young people spanning wide age levels, from

middle and high schools, through higher education (The National Foundation for

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 12 of 22

Teaching Entrepreneurship, 2007; Nevada Dept. of Education, 2007; Gray, 2006). Also

helpful to entrepreneur education is the positive development of cooperation and

partnering of higher education with Small Business Development Centers to provide

classes and workshops for entrepreneurs as part of community education, professional

development and continuing education. Local colleges host classes and training on

various aspects of entrepreneurship, publicized through the various networks of

business and economic development centers.

Knowledge Obtained from Assistance and Information Resources

For those who lack the education, experience or requisite knowledge, various

forms of professional assistance are available--from small business information

resources consisting of agencies and organizations providing guidance, information and

support to entrepreneurs. These entities include free assistance and support from the

Small Business Administration Business Information Centers, Small Business

Development Centers, and libraries. “Business owners who get expert help before they

open a business have a much greater chance of succeeding. Business owners who get

expert help as their businesses grow and change, succeed more quickly with fewer

speed bumps along the way.” (Jordan, 2006)

Another way that entrepreneurs can acquire some entrepreneurial knowledge

and methodology is through assistance obtained from the Small Business Development

Centers (SBDCs). “Surveys consistently show that businesses assisted by the SBDC

outperform non-assisted businesses, creating three times more jobs and increasing

sales three times faster.” (Small Business Development Center, n.d.). SBDCs provide

consultation, information and education. Some SBDCs work with local colleges as part

of cooperative networks of resources.

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 13 of 22

Additional sources of business knowledge and assistance are public and

academic libraries, which provide free and fee-based information services. Concomitant

with the increased community attention to economic development and the needs of the

entrepreneur has been the enlarged role of libraries in providing business information

and guidance. Public libraries offer educational outreach services to businesses and

have taken steps to work closely with the Small Business Administration (SBA), Small

Business Development Centers and chambers of commerce to serve businesses.

Surveys show that libraries are used to a great extent by entrepreneurs to help start or

run a business (American Library Association, 2006; Welch, 2005; Glass, 2000). Recent

SBA Business Information Center funding cuts mandating a phaseout of the Centers will

necessitate an even larger business information role for libraries.

Conclusion

Knowledge and information literacy skills are important for entrepreneurial

success. Knowledge and information literacy are obtained and enhanced through the

educational process, preferably with information literacy instruction, especially when the

instruction is more than just generic, but focused on entrepreneurship as a specific

academic discipline. The process of learning and using information literacy and obtaining

knowledge spans formal education as well as various assistance and information

resources such as Small Business Development Centers, libraries and the Internet.

Info Lit Knowledge Factors in Success Page 14 of 22

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