Environmental scanning in business organisations

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to analyse the environmental scanning and information sources used by Jordanian firms. Furthermore, the relationship between environmental scanning and organisational characteristics (firm size and industry type), as well as organisational performance, is explored. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical research was coordinated via a survey of 190 Jordanian publicly quoted firms. The results of the survey provided a rich source of data in relation to a variety of practices associated with environmental scanning in these firms. Findings – The findings of this study show that scanning focus was higher for the general environmental sectors than the task environmental sectors. The results also demonstrate that these firms rely more on internal sources of information. Larger firms have more scanning activities, while smaller firms tend to focus on different sources of information. Additionally, some differences in the industry sector in terms of scanning behaviour were identified. This study also supports the literature regarding the positive relationship between environment scanning and organisational performance by providing new empirical evidence from the context of Middle East countries. Originality/value – This paper provides empirical evidence on the nature and the practice of environmental scanning and its value for organisational performance in business firms in a Middle East context. From a theoretical perspective, this study engages in the “convergence versus divergence” debate regarding managers’ scanning behaviour around the world.