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Competitive Intelligence Practices: A Case Study of a South African Academic Library Setting

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Udgivet i:European Conference on Knowledge Management vol. 1 (Sep 2025), p. 1058-1068
Hovedforfatter: Tshidaho, Dzhavhelo
Andre forfattere: Maungwa, Tumelo, van Wyk, Brenda
Udgivet:
Academic Conferences International Limited
Fag:
South Africa
Higher education
Search engines
Libraries
Collaboration
Information literacy
Trends
Standards
Information professionals
Library and information science
Ethics
Competitive intelligence
Strategic planning
Benchmarks
Intelligence (information)
Competition
Qualitative analysis
User services
Research methodology
Public services
Academic libraries
Online data bases
Partnerships
Decision making
Librarians
Data collection
Access to information
Best practice
Collection development
Digital technology
Access to materials
Case studies
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Resumen:The study explored and identified several competitive strategies employed by academic libraries to maintain and enhance their competitive edge. The presence of these strategies highlights the multifaceted approach required to stay relevant and effective in a rapidly evolving information landscape, also in an academic information support landscape. Qualitative data were collected from managers by means of semi-structured interviews. Participants emphasized the use of benchmarking exercises to stay abreast of trends and developments in the field. By comparing their practices against top institutions, libraries can identify areas for improvement and adopt best practices. Findings of the study show the importance of benchmarking as a tool for gathering competitive intelligence. Benchmarking helps libraries to align their services and resources with industry standards, ensuring they remain competitive. The study found that financial constraints impact the ability of libraries to be competitive. Participants noted that while they strive to build capacity, financial limitations hinder their efforts. Collaboration and partnerships were emphasized as critical for building capacity and maintaining international standards. Participants discussed the importance of establishing partnerships with other academic institutions, both nationally and internationally. The concept of "scrums" or interdepartmental collaboration within the academic institution is emphasized to bring together staff from different divisions to work on common goals of partnerships in enhancing library services and resources.
ISSN:2048-8963
2048-8971
Fuente:ABI/INFORM Global