Drive for Acquiring Information:

What motivates or encourages individual or organizations to acquire information?

Entity	Motivation	Reasons	Pros	Cons
Individuals	Education and Learning	Personal growth, skill enhancement, continuous learning	Increased knowledge, expanded horizons	Time-consuming, information overload, potential distractions
	Decision Making	Informed choices, evidence-based decision-making	Better outcomes, reduced risks	Information bias, conflicting sources
	Problem Solving	Understanding issues, exploring solutions	Effective problem-solving, innovative thinking	Limited resources, incomplete information
	Research and Innovation	Advancing knowledge, exploring new ideas	Scientific progress, technological advancements	Need for expertise, resource-intensive
	Personal/Social Awareness	Staying updated, understanding diverse perspectives	Enhanced empathy, social cohesion	Information overload, potential biases
	Curiosity/Interest Driven	Exploring personal interests, satisfying curiosity	Intellectual stimulation, personal satisfaction	Distraction from important tasks, time-consuming
Communities	Decision Making	Collective choices, community development	Informed decision-making, community engagement	Disagreements, differing priorities
	Problem Solving	Addressing community issues, finding solutions	Effective problem-solving, community empowerment	Limited resources, diverse perspectives
	Communication/Collaboration	Sharing information, building partnerships	Enhanced communication, collective action	Miscommunication, information privacy
	Personal/Social Awareness	Understanding local issues, promoting social change	Informed civic engagement, community empowerment	Information overload, apathy
Institutions	Education and Learning	Academic programs, research initiatives	Knowledge dissemination, intellectual development	Resource-intensive, institutional constraints
	Decision Making	Policy formulation, strategic planning	Informed policies, effective management	Information bias, bureaucratic delays
	Research and Innovation	Advancing knowledge, technological advancements	Scientific progress, institutional reputation	Funding constraints, competitive landscape
	Compliance and Accountability	Regulatory requirements, performance monitoring	Adherence to standards, transparency	Compliance costs, administrative burden
	Communication/Collaboration	Interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge sharing	Enhanced collaboration, interdisciplinary breakthroughs	Organizational silos, information hoarding
Organizations	Decision Making	Strategic decision-making, resource allocation	Informed choices, improved performance	Information overload, limited expertise
	Problem Solving	Identifying solutions, optimizing processes	Effective problem-solving, efficiency gains	Resource constraints, resistance to change
	Research and Innovation	Product development, market analysis	Competitive advantage, innovation	R&D costs, uncertain outcomes
	Compliance and Accountability	Legal requirements, regulatory compliance	Legal compliance, risk mitigation	Compliance costs, potential penalties
	Communication/Collaboration	Internal/external communication, partnerships	Effective collaboration, stakeholder engagement	Miscommunication, information leakage
Enterprises	Market Research	Understanding customer needs, identifying market trends	Improved products/services, competitive advantage	Market volatility, data privacy concerns
	Decision Making	Strategic planning, business development	Informed decisions, growth opportunities	Information bias, resource constraints
	Innovation and Creativity	Product/service innovation, exploring new markets	Competitive edge, revenue growth	R&D costs, market uncertainties
	Compliance and Accountability	Regulatory requirements, quality assurance	Legal compliance, reputation management	Compliance costs, reputational risks
	Communication/Collaboration	Internal/external communication, partnerships	Effective collaboration, market outreach	Miscommunication, information leakage

The theory around acquisition is closely tied to information processing theory. Unfortunately, most of the focus of information processing theory has been  “an approach to cognitive development studies that aims to explain how information is encoded into memory. (Source: Research.com, What is Information Processing Theory? Stages, Models & Limitations | Research.com). The drawback is that the theory focuses on individual rather than on organization or macro level processing of information

Information Processing In General:

It is helpful to see how information is processed by those who seek knowing.  The information processing theory is built around individual information processing. However, as suggested, Information processing theory can be extended beyond individuals.

Accordingly, like individuals, there are four primary stages of processing information in organizations which usually, but not always, occur in order (Kmetz, 2020):

1. Acquisition or retrieval – Individuals in the organization receive or seek information. The source of information can come from within the organization, such as knowledge base, experts, or even performance review comments from employees. The information can also originate from outside the organization through other entities, third-party experts, and more.

2. Storage – Once the information is acquired, Storing occur in different media such as computers, databases, or servers. Storing is a crucial part of the entire information processing workflow so that other members of the organization can access the information when needed. It is also important for learning as the organization can learn from its past experiences through the stored information.

3. Transformation – The next steep is to Modify or transform information that is received or in storage. This may include analysis, expansion, or compression that will help in decision-making. Transforming can include extracting or deriving result from new information.

4. Transmission – The information from one of the first three stages are distributed to others. It may include reporting or presenting to relevant stakeholders. (Source:  Research.com, What is Information Processing Theory? Stages, Models & Limitations | Research.com)

Information Acquisition Driving Factors:

In a very simplified way, the over riding factor that motivates and/or crates a need for acquiring information is the gap between what is known and knowable. Hence, the desire or need for knowing new or more motivates individuals and organization to acquire information. Unless one accepts an existing level of knowledge as adequate, then a deficit in knowing that can be addressed by acquiring new or old lost information.

There are a number of factors that drive acquisition of information. It depends on the state where the individual or organization is in terms of their stockpile of information and knowledge. In fact based on the theory of value of information, the more information you use, the more information you need. The need for information grows with the use of information. Hence, below are some factors:

1) Need for New information: Knowing  is the primary reason why organizations or individual invest time and resources to acquire new information. In order to acquire new information, there are necessary and sufficient conditions:  the necessary condition is that seekers have to be aware of the availability of the information and its use, and the sufficient condition is that the seekers have to have the ability and capacity to acquire, transform and utilize the information. Hence, those that acquire new information have to have ability and capacity to transform the information they acquire.

2) Addition to an Existing Information: Another  key motivation to acquire Information is a desire or a need to add to an existing stockpile of information. The theory suggest as the dimensions of the information increases, so is  the knowing or insight. Seeking and acquiring additional information can enhance knowledge discovery.

3) Complete Missing Information: The final motivating factor is the desire to complete a missing information. Due to timing, resource availability or unavailability of the information, there could be a key missing information. Hence, when available, that motivates seekers to acquire the missing information. A complete information is necessary to gain better knowledge.

In summary, in the prior process of Recording and transforming the data, a stockpile of information have been created. The process of acquisition can be carried out by either the seekers pulling in the information or the owners of the information stockpile selectively push the information to the appropriate areas where it can be explored and interpreted to create insight.