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This study discusses the problems of organising competitive intelligence activities in a corporate organisation. Traditionally in many large corporations the collection, interpretation and analysis of competitive information has been assigned to a specialised intelligence or competitor analysis unit in order to exploit the synergy created by centralisation. This organising mechanism has, however, serious shortcomings that are considered in this study. It is debated that this centralised and systematic approach to managing and exploiting competitive information ignores the actual ways that managers and other knowledge workers utilise information resources in their work processes. An empirical study was made in a multinationally operating Finnish forest industry company in order to examine, what kind of competitive information managers and other knowledge workers need in their work processes, what were the most valuable information sources and how this information was actually utilised and communicated inside the corporation. The results of this empirical study are discussed. Some guidelines are provided to improve the process of coordinating and combining both systematically and unsystematically collected competitive information into a coherent organisational mechanism.

With the advance of the Silk Road Initiative proposed by China, it has been a focus of China government to develop strategic emerging industries. The development of strategic emerging industries needs the support of competitive intelligence on many aspects such as strategical planning, policy making, industrial structure adjustment, and technology innovation. However, so far there are few studies toward the competitive intelligence systems for strategic emerging industries. In this article, we focus on a number of issues related to the competitive intelligence for strategic emerging industries in China. First, we conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis on the situations of strategic emerging industries in China, based on which the necessity of building a competitive intelligence (CI) service system for strategic emerging industries is discussed. Next, the authors present a framework of a CI service system for strategic emerging industries in China. The principles, components, working process, and product forms are deeply described. The CI service system proposed in this article consists of a cooperation network platform, three layered organizations, and three systems, which integrates organizations, information, people, network, and service platforms into an ecosystem to offer competitive intelligence supports for government, industry, and enterprises. Finally, the authors discuss a case study of the proposed CI service system for the new energy automobile industry.

The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive advantage provided by BI capability is not well researched. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for successful BI deployment and empirically examines the association between BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage. Taking the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as a case example, the research particularly focuses on the influencing perceptions held by telecommunications decision makers and executives on factors that impact successful BI deployment. The research further investigates the relationship between successful BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage of the telecommunications organizations. Another important aim of this study is to determine the effect of moderating factors such as organization culture, business strategy, and use of BI tools on BI deployment and the sustainability of firm’s competitive advantage.

This research uses combination of resource-based theory and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to examine BI success and its relationship with firm’s sustainability. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and a two-phase sequential mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. The chapter presents a qualitative field study to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. The study includes a survey study with sample of business analysts and decision makers in telecommunications firms and is analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that some internal resources of the organizations such as BI governance and the perceptions of BI’s characteristics influence the successful deployment of BI. Organizations that practice good BI governance with strong moral and financial support from upper management have an opportunity to realize the dream of having successful BI initiatives in place. The scope of BI governance includes providing sufficient support and commitment in BI funding and implementation, laying out proper BI infrastructure and staffing and establishing a corporate-wide policy and procedures regarding BI. The perceptions about the characteristics of BI such as its relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability are also significant in ensuring BI success. The most important results of this study indicated that with BI successfully deployed, executives would use the knowledge provided for their necessary actions in sustaining the organizations’ competitive advantage in terms of economics, social, and environmental issues.

This study contributes significantly to the existing literature that will assist future BI researchers especially in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, the model will help practitioners to consider the resources that they are likely to consider when deploying BI. Finally, the applications of this study can be extended through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and design a paradigm model for universities' information acquisition behavior in competitive intelligence process.

The sampling has been conducted in two stages. First, purposive sampling has been done among Iranian universities of medical sciences. Second, 20 university staff members were selected using the snowball method. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews.

The purpose of acquiring information in competitive intelligence process is to meet organizational and individual information needs in active and passive ways. The characteristics of information acquisition and how to acquire it are varied. Enablers include the information sources, individual, organizational characteristics and environmental pressures. Barriers are individual, organizational, environmental factors. The consequences of information acquisition are success, failure and partial success. Accordingly, a paradigm model of information behavior has been designed.

This is the first study to identify information behavior of universities in competitive intelligence process. In addition to why and how to acquire information, this study also looks at facilitators and barriers factors.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of analytical customer relationship management (CRM) on salesperson information use behavior.

To achieve the aim of this paper, a vignette experiment was undertaken. The data used for the final analysis included 125 professional salespeople across multiple industries.

This paper focuses on the personal use of competitive intelligence. The authors find that to maximize the effectiveness of using competitive intelligence, the salesperson must become adept at both choosing the correct pa`rtners to trust and properly valuing information. Properly valuing information can be accomplished through the use of analytical CRM.

The managerial implications of this paper are straightforward yet important. CRM providers have improved the tools available to salespeople (e.g., heat maps) and have partnered with other large scale providers of customer and market information (e.g., global marketing research firms) to provide a analytical tool that is user friendly to salespeople. Yet, many firms still use simplified CRM platforms, which do little more for the salesperson than offer an opportunity to document notes. Sales firms should move toward this analytical CRM system because it improves the salesperson’s ability to value information and increases the salesperson’s ability to use intelligence to link products to buyer needs.

This paper contributes to theory through confirming the importance of analytical CRM on salesperson’s information use behavior by using a motivation, opportunity and ability framework. Additionally, a methodological contribution was made through the development of an information value scale.

The paper aims to give a new look at competitive intelligence (CI) and the resulting benefits to growing companies.

A total of 20 questions are presented, competitive information sources are listed, and the four core components of CI are displayed to explain how a company can implement CI into the business planning. Two case studies summarize a CI system that shows how successful this technique can be.

This research will inspire marketers to take a look at their CI and reactivate it based on what is presented. The overall practice of CI shows the rewards a company that develops this program can gain.

All data were collected by Latitude Consulting. Reference is made to journal and newspaper articles.

The paper will explain how to use CI in a meaningful way.

This is an extremely new and original concept for businesses to apply.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the degree of knowledge of competitive intelligence in Tunisian companies.

This exploratory study was conducted using semi‐in‐depth interviews and focus group with six executives in six companies in Tunisia. Three sectors were chosen for this study: communication technologies, manufacturing and commercial retailing. These companies are prevalent in Tunisia and are very different.

The results show that Tunisian managers are conscious of the importance of competitive intelligence in the management of their companies. Second, managers believe that internal sources of information are more valuable than external sources information and personal source information is deemed most valuable. Third, the results of the process and structure questions indicate that companies may not yet be investing appropriately in building the internal infrastructure required for fully effective intelligence efficacy. Finally, this practice is not organised in a separate department and, if it is mostly done in the marketing department.

To know and develop this practice, a company must, on the one hand, build internal competitive intelligence process. On the other hand, develop a sensitisation programme that is continuous and that should focus on telling employees what competitive intelligence is, what they can, and should, contribute and demonstrate the value in sharing information.

This study is the first to investigate competitive intelligence in Tunisia. The results lead to a number of recommendations to develop competitive intelligence in Tunisian companies. Various methods are proposed including awareness and training program, recognising by managers the value of competitive intelligence as an important tool to develop competitive intelligence.

Competitive intelligence failures have devastating effects in marketplaces. They are attributed to various factors but seldom explicitly to information behaviour. This paper addresses causes of competitive intelligence failures from an information behaviour lens focussing on problems with key intelligence and information needs. The exploratory study was conducted in 2016/2017. Managers (end-users) identify key intelligence needs on which information is needed, and often other staff members seek the information (proxy information seeking). The purpose of this paper is to analyse problems related to key intelligence and information needs, and make recommendations to address the problems.

The study is placed in a post-positivism research paradigm, using qualitative and limited quantitative research approaches. In total, 15 participants (competitive intelligence professionals and educators/trainers originating from South Africa and the USA) contributed rich data through in-depth individual interviews.

Problems associated with articulation of information needs (key intelligence needs is the competitive intelligence term – with a broader scope) include inadequate communication between the person in need of information and the proxy information searcher; awareness and recognition of information needs; difficulty in articulation, incomplete and partial sharing of details of needs.

Participant recruitment was difficult, representing mostly from South Africa. The findings from this exploratory study can, however, direct further studies with a very understudied group.

However, revealed valuable findings that can guide research.

Little has been published on competitive intelligence from an information behaviour perspective. Frameworks guiding the study (a combination of Leckie et al.’s 1996 and Wilson’s, 1981 models and a competitive intelligence life cycle), however, revealed valuable findings that can guide research.

Adjusting a company to its competitive environment is often done without proper knowledge of the competitive environment. This paper seeks to describe methods and tools that could be used to improve internet‐based scanning of the competitive environment. In addition, the paper aims to describe an example where such methods and tools are used.

Existing literature on environmental scanning, competitive intelligence, and benchmarking is reviewed to brief the theoretical background, and to find new ideas to improve scanning of the competitive environment. Using theory‐building approach, the research is based on constructive methodology. The construction is done in ABB Corporate Research, in the Business Technology Portals Project.

Experts scan the environment using the advanced tools, interviews and knowledge sharing, and managers mainly scan by discussing with other people. Modern search engines can be used to build advanced tools that enhance competitive environment scanning and benchmarking on screening level. Search engines acquire and analyze information from the internet, e.g. from news, company, internet pages, patents, and databases. The methods reduce the time needed for acquiring information, enabling people to concentrate on analyzing the information.

For researchers, the paper provides a literature review of the topic with an innovative construction.

For practitioners, the paper provides an example of framework, methods and tools that can be used to scan the competitive environment.

The theoretical background has been innovatively applied to construct and to deploy very pragmatic tools that enhance scanning the competitive environment.