MANUFACTURING ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT The current dynamism in competitive environments is characterized by new information sources, new technologies in hardware and management, new competitors and shorter life cycles of products. This landscape has stressed the importance of organizational knowledge in manufacturing companies. This study analyzes empirically the possible inter-relationship between manufacturing organizational knowledge and environmental dynamism. We followed a quantitative approach. The sample is composed by 78 companies located in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in food, electronics, transports equipment, and machines industries. The results suggest positive correlations among manufacturing organizational knowledge, information sources and cross-functionality, and environmental dynamism.