Competitive Intelligence for Information Professionals

Margareta Nelke, Charlotte Håkansson

• Publisher: Chandos Publishing
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780081002063
• eBook ISBN: 9780081002438
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Information professionals should be able to take a proactive role as a strategic partner in their organization's competitive intelligence. Their role needs to focus on the "outside-in" approach, based on their organization's strategic needs and objectives. Competitive Intelligence for Information Professionals explores the role of strategic information and intelligence in organizations, and assesses the values and needs of intelligence in organizations. The book provides guidance on how to work strategically with competitive intelligence, methods for monitoring and analysis and a process-oriented approach. Chapters include discussions on how news monitoring and competitive intelligence interact and how this offers opportunities for cooperation between different departments. Cases from the authors' own experiences when working with competitive intelligence in international corporations are also included.- Competitive intelligence (CI) is a new area for Information professionals- Offers perspectives on a new trend within the library and information sector- Provides a comprehensive approach to CI

1

The value of competitive intelligence

Abstract

Before starting to incorporate or implement competitive intelligence in an organisation it is always of great importance to previously have determined its value for the organisation. What’s in it for us? This chapter provides the definition of competitive intelligence and it also explains the growing need of various businesses, organisations and society to have a structured approach to competitive intelligence. It also includes examples from real-life business cases.

Keywords

business case

competitive intelligence

definition

environmental factors

value

Definition of competitive intelligence

The development of intelligence historically emanates from the war industry. Business management embraced competitive intelligence and developed it so as to enable a sharpening of the edge of competition, as well as to prepare for strategic and structural changes.

Business intelligence is by definition the overall term which embraces the diverse palette of intelligence. There is a wide range of various definitions which include all sub-groups such as competitor intelligence, market intelligence, technology intelligence, scientific intelligence, etc. We have chosen to use competitive intelligence as an overall term to make the definition more transparent and distinct. Another reason for choosing this term instead of the term business intelligence is to avoid confusing it with business intelligence when used as a term in data warehouse terminology. Business intelligence is used in the IT department to designate internal data for IT solutions for sales figures, customers, prices, etc. It is very important to have a crystal-clear definition of the terminology used in our context. We need to put careful planning and effort into the implementation of the significance being decided specifically for our organisation.

We use the term competitive intelligence to simplify the implementation of the concept in other parts of the organisation. It is a more neutral term than business intelligence, it describes the concept better and it tells the audience something. But be aware – competitive intelligence is not to be confused with competitor intelligence, which is the investigation of the competitor instead of the full range of impact factors affecting our business environment. An important aspect of competitive intelligence is thinking outside the box, finding the unexpected and examining areas which are not obvious in the daily work routines or in the present strategy.

Why is the importance of competitive intelligence increasing?

Why should corporations and organisations put effort and resources into strategic and competitive intelligence? The answer is because the cost of process-oriented, structural intelligence provides value in many ways.

The importance of intelligence is increasing for businesses. Several factors have an impact on why, and we will describe some of those mentioned in various research reports by Bohman (2009) and Lundqvist (2010), as well as some from our own experience:

• globalisation

• individualisation

• competition

• complexity

• the demand for knowledge

• IT development

• threats

• crises

• a common view.

These factors were defined in the research report from the investigation of 50 national public authorities in Sweden between 2005 and 2007. Interviews were carried out by the Institute for Futures Studies (Lundqvist, 2010). We found that these impact factors were applicable and generic for a larger environment than just the public sector in Sweden when compared with our own experience from international corporate business and academia.

Globalisation

Changing structures in society and changing organisational cultures make an impact. The world is becoming more global – and it is shrinking. We are working, travelling and partnering in a growing international context. Country borders are of less importance in globalisation while the Internet and digital communication are of greater importance. The demand for smart interactivity increases e-learning, open innovation, open spaces, open communication, open universities and social networking.

Research communication is changing – universities are becoming more and more internationalised while researchers must interact in a global arena and communicate at international conferences, world-wide seminars and open-space project groups.

Businesses are moving faster and faster around the globe. Developing countries have undergone quick market growth and major changes are taking place in the industries of the USA, Europe and Japan.

Globalisation takes place on several levels as well as in our minds. We are becoming citizens of the world and our knowledge about each other is increasing in fast and sometimes unpredictable ways as a result of increased migration and both physical and virtual movement.

Individualisation

On the other hand, the tendency for individualisation in our society is evolving compared to a few decades ago. This phenomenon probably appears at certain intervals and frequencies. The reason for our individualistic approach could, of course, be related to the rapid development of information overflow and the impact of faster and greater stimuli. The outlook for our surrounding environment becomes even more important if we as individuals have a need to protect ourselves against information flooding. Society is experiencing an acceleration in production in research and development within science. On one hand we need to cope with this as individuals and on another hand we need to be a part of the future development of the modern society. Nobody wants to be ‘left’ behind.

Competition

Every corporation, organisation and public sector is exposed to increasing competition – we have to compete in a more differentiated market. We often refer to the potential of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and now also including South Africa) – where a fast-growing, very well-educated middle class is competing in the global arena. This considerable potential must be met and challenged by other countries. The western hemisphere must adjust to completely new markets and new relationships.

To do that we have to change from an industrialised society to a community which is information- and knowledge-based. New demands for changes require completely new sets of skills and training. Our society has to adjust to new developments resulting from the demands of these changes.

There are less and less traditional working opportunities – we are competing with large and well-educated developing markets which also have the means to communicate skills through faster communication channels. China and India are examples of countries with a huge growing middle-class which Europe and the USA are competing with. Scientific publications are flooding scientific databases, open access and scientific communities and we have to adapt.

From a European perspective there is the challenge of an increasingly elderly population. How does a shrinking population take care of an ageing population which lives longer and longer? How can we manage to interact with changing international population streams?

Complexity

The complexity of society is increasing, even though we have simpler ways to communicate. We are also developing and increasing our knowledge of and our competence in using these tools. But we also experience the world as being more complex, even though there are more opportunities available. We do not know how to fix our cars anymore because they are not only mechanical but include a complex data system for all the comfortable functionalities we need in order to view our vehicles as modern. We have to go to a car mechanic to change a light bulb instead of doing it ourselves. The same complexity exists in the development of education, working society and daily life. We are unable to see through all systems and processes at a glance. We need more and more sophisticated learning tools to be able to cope with the progress of society.

The demand for knowledge

The demand for knowledge is therefore increasing in the world of complexity. We do not need an immense flood of information. Instead we need analyses and conclusions. We need to take care of the information available in a more knowledgeable way than by just clicking on a mouse or Googling. This includes how we deal with the sources of knowledge. Filtering, analysing, making available – knowledge must be accessible since the demand for it grows with the complexity. Somebody has to take responsibility for the process of making information knowledgeable.

A description of the process flow of information could be like this: data is comprised of bits and pieces which are turned into information. When we receive information we process the information in our brains to produce knowledge. The relationship could be pictured in a sequence of Data → Information → Knowledge → Wisdom where data is a number of facts that have no meaning until they are interpreted as information. Information could be any amount of facts but also a form of substantial messages. In the process of interpreting information the sums are adding up into knowledge – something more than just the given information – and when we are using our knowledge we can ennoble this into the application of wisdom.

IT development

The fast pace of IT development has provided us with easy access to information and also brings about new means for creative solutions which we cannot yet imagine. This has made a great impact on society; however, there is still work to be done in our approach to the tools whi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Chandos Information Professional Series
• Copyright
• About the authors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1: The value of competitive intelligence
• 2: The right leadership adds value to competitive intelligence
• 3: Competitive intelligence from start to end
• 4: Plan and prioritise
• 5: Capture and manage
• 6: Analyse and communicate
• 7: The organisational side of competitive intelligence
• 8: Knowledge management – a vital component of competitive intelligence
• 9: The human side of competitive intelligence
• 10: The role of the information professional in competitive intelligence
• 11: Promoting competitive intelligence: the importance of marketing, communication and evaluation
• 12: Tools and methods
• References
• Index