Introduction to Competitive Intelligence
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INTRODUCTION TO COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE GIA WHITE PAPER 1/2004 Executive Summary Competitive intelligence can be defined as The intelligence terminology has always been knowledge and foreknowledge about the somewhat blurred, and new terms emerge as the external operating environment. The ultimate intelligence discipline matures within the corporate goal of each intelligence process is to facilitate setting. decision-making that leads to action. • Competitive Intelligence, Successful business strategy requires awareness • Business Intelligence, about the company’s external environment, • Market Intelligence and including its customers, competitors, industry • Corporate Intelligence structure, competitive forces etc. Information about these issues is the key target of competitive are often used interchangeably or as synonyms, intelligence. Competitive intelligence can be while defined as knowledge and foreknowledge about the external operating environment. The ultimate • Strategic Intelligence, goal of each intelligence process is to facilitate • Customer Intelligence, decision-making that leads to action. • Competitor Intelligence and • Technology Intelligence The intelligence process enables turning information into intelligence by processing it via analysis, add a dimension of specificity to the subject. interpretation and synthesis and utilizing it in the Eventually, all intelligence terms refer to using future-oriented decision-making. Managing the systematic methods to collect, analyze and future does not only mean being able to anticipate disseminate information that supports decision- what will happen outside the company but also making. being able to shape the happenings through own actions, i.e. to proactively create one’s future. According to one of the views, Competitive Intelligence (CI) is regarded as the broadest Competitive Intelligence is not market research scope of intelligence activities covering the whole or industrial espionage. While market research external operating environment of the company often focuses on fulfilling a specific information and targeting all levels of decision-making, i.e. need or set of needs, intelligence is a completely strategic, tactical and operative. At the same time, legal ongoing process of developing a holistic it should be emphasized that the key goal of CI is to picture of the operating environment including facilitate more effective strategic planning and, as competitors, customers and markets. An effective such, it’s one of the most important strategic tools intelligence process continuously contributes to that management possesses. an organization’s knowledge base and leads to cumulative organizational learning. The Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA) is a global network of business research and Competitive Intelligence (CI) consulting companies. The series of GIA White Papers is a means for the GIA and its clients and partner companies to share knowledge on key topics within the field of Competitive Intelligence. Please feel free to give us feedback on the White Papers by sending email to [email protected]. GIA White Paper 1/2004 Introduction to Competitive Intelligence 1. Definition of Competitive Intelligence Herring (1992) identifies two categories of (Figure 1). Going up the pyramid we move from information needed for business strategy quantity (huge amounts of data and information formulation: available to everyone) to quality (intelligence leading to specific decisions and actions which • information about the company’s own can ensure competitive advantage). resources and capabilities, and • information about the company’s external This difference is noted also by Kahaner (1996, 20- environment. 21) who argues that while information is factual, consisting of numbers, statistics and scattered The latter (information related to customers, bits of data, intelligence, on the contrary, is a competitors, industry structure and competitive collection of pieces of information that have been forces) shapes the industry and is the target of filtered, distilled and analyzed. In other words, every Competitive Intelligence process. the purpose of the intelligence production is to put the fragments of information into a coherent Sawka (1996) defines Competitive Intelligence as puzzle, a picture of the forthcoming future. The knowledge and foreknowledge about the external essential notion, again, is that information is operating environment. He considers CI a prelude turned into something that can be acted upon. to informed decision-making, and further argues that intelligence can be viewed as actionable information about a customer, market situation, regulator, competitor or any other external Intelligence is the lifeblood of influence. The information is made actionable strategy. through careful analysis and interpretation, which turns it into intelligence. The notion of actionable information is essential This view is supported by Taylor & Farrell (1994, in the context of Competitive Intelligence. The 95) according to whom transforming information ultimate goal of each intelligence process should into intelligence calls for intellectual activity be to facilitate decision-making that leads to such as analysis, interpretation and synthesis action. Therefore, information not leading to into a form easily digestible for the users. It also intelligence that can be acted upon is useless involves forecasts and opinions about the future and should be eliminated over the course of the instead of just observations about historical and intelligence process before reaching the decision- present situations, i.e. differently from ‘traditional’ maker. analysis, it is not about what happened, but about what is going to happen. It is characteristic for today’s intelligent companies to seek, process and use information Differently from rather common misunderstanding, about their outside environment to manage their Competitive intelligence is not market research, future (McGonagle & Vella 1996, 9). What turns nor is it industrial espionage. It is a completely information into intelligence, according to the legal and increasingly essential element in the above definition, is processing it into forecasts formulation of corporate competitive strategy. It and utilizing it in future-oriented decision- provides the decision-maker with invaluable insight making. Hence, managing the future does not into the competitor’s capabilities and intentions. only mean being able to anticipate what will Furthermore, it serves as an early warning of future happen outside the company but also being able events, which may have an impact on company to shape the happenings through own actions, i.e. performance. Bernhardt who calls intelligence “the to proactively create one’s future. lifeblood of strategy” takes the idea of essential and vital intelligence even further. He argues that In other words, although information and a strategy without intelligence is not strategy, it is intelligence are sometimes used as synonyms, they merely guessing. Meanwhile intelligence is about are at different levels of the ‘intelligence pyramid’ ‘guessing right’. GIA White Paper 1/2004 Introduction to Competitive Intelligence While market research often focuses on fulfilling Competitive Intelligence has always been part a specific information need or set of needs, of the competitive corporate world. Corporate intelligence is an ongoing process of developing executives are particularly interested in marketing a holistic picture of the operating environment data, competitor financials and industry trends in including competitors, customers and markets. their effort to better position their own company in Thus, an effective intelligence process continuously the marketplace. Competitive Intelligence can also contributes to an organization’s knowledge base reveal weaknesses in the company’s own security and leads to cumulative organizational learning. operation and help protect itself against industrial espionage, fraud and other similar threats (ibid.). Distilled, Integrated Intelligence Information Knowledge Information Random, Data Dispersed Figure 1. The Intelligence Pyramid GIA White Paper 1/2004 Introduction to Competitive Intelligence 2. Levels and Terminology of Competitive Intelligence use typically originates from the subject area Eventually, all intelligence where intelligence procedures are being applied. terms refer to using systematic Competitive Intelligence, Business Intelligence, methods to collect, analyze and Market Intelligence and Corporate Intelligence are disseminate information that often used interchangeably or as synonyms, while supports decision-making. Strategic Intelligence, Customer Intelligence, Competitor Intelligence and Technology Intelligence add a dimension of specificity to the The intelligence terminology has always been subject. Eventually, all intelligence terms refer to somewhat blurred, and new terms emerge as using systematic methods to collect, analyze and the intelligence discipline matures within the disseminate information that supports decision- corporate setting. Generally speaking, the making (Gilad, 1997, ref. Calof 1997; Ettorre, exact term that each organization prefers to 1995). Corporate Investor Marketing & Sales: Planning & Relations: Market & Product Business Peer Group Intelligence Development: Intelligence Strategic Intelligence Trends and Themes Business Environment Trends and Critical Themes CRM: Customer Intelligence Industries Supplier Customer Industry Industry Industry