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Information and knowledge are the basis of all organizational, economic and social processes and activities. As economic resources, information and knowledge affect the survival of organizations and their approach to the market. Many organizations with information processing difficulties are vulnerable to the volatility of the environment and therefore have difficulty in reacting to market changes. The lack of management skills and organizational know-how in this field, the inadequacy of organizational information systems and reading disabilities and analysis of the critical elements for decision-making hinder the success of established strategies (Guarda, Santos, Pinto et al., 2013). It is therefore important that economic organizations rethink their organizational systems (functional, informational and technological), to reflect a “guideline” and identify architecture and urbanism solutions (Anunciação & Zorrinho, 2006; Anunciação, 2004; Anunciação, 1997) to generate competitive advantage.
As information and knowledge are the key factors of production and, simultaneously, economic products, it is important that production systems are properly architected to ensure adequate efficiency levels in operation, efficiency in the decisions and value in the established strategies. Given that information is the base of knowledge and knowledge the base of intelligence it is critical to develop economic organizations in this direction.
It is true that knowledge and intelligence are two characteristics closely related to the human being. It is also true that the human being is endowed with a set of cognitive characteristics that, upon receipt and processing of information and knowledge and experience acquired, allows him to increase his ability to face and solve new situations and problems. Because organizations are social groupings, which integrate, among others, a set of human resources with knowledge and intelligence, it is important that the management recognize, use and develop collective potential through models and tools that facilitate the development of organizational intelligence. Given that at the base of the organizations we have information and knowledge, it is essential that the management be sensitive to the value of the incorporation of this asset in its activities.
The concept of intelligence corresponds to the value creation process by signal capture capability (information), their interpretation, understanding and reaction aiming at taking measures and decisions in the form, content and the appropriate time to identified situations. In the field of management, there are two concepts traditionally associated with intelligence: the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) and organizational intelligence (OI). The first, competitive intelligence, aimed at identifying opportunities and risks in the external environment of organizations. CI has its focus centered on strategic development and competition. The second, organizational intelligence, aimed at the diagnosis of the internal environment and the adequacy of the organizational system in view of the efficiency of its operation and effectiveness in resource allocation. From the analysis of both, it appears that the existence of appropriate organizational dynamics to market requirements presupposes management skills in interpreting information and, consequently, an appropriate architecture of information systems to ensure their availability. These skills and architecture are essential conditions for the adoption of the concept of intelligence by organizations.
The competitive level of organizations is gauged by the capacity of early identification of market trends, the organizational factors domain and the adequacy of commercial answers. This means that, considering the above concepts, we can say that there is no CI if there are no OI. We can not achieve the value of market information and generate competitive value unless we can perceive, understand and master the organizational reality. This is a principle for any organization and any economic sector.
Competing in the current economic dimension, means having the ability to orchestrate all the “clues” that the market offers (Berry, Carbone & Haeckel, 2002), peering into the environment, understanding it properly, emphasizing their actual capabilities and assuming their limitations in order not only to survive but, above all, progress steadily. Economic key-drivers that continue to mark the dynamics of organizations and stimulate management skills are according to Mcconnell & Ward-Perkins (1998) the following: