Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Corporate and Industrial Communications

Department

Business

First Advisor

Michael Castro

Second Advisor

Gareth Gardiner

Third Advisor

Tom Dehner

Abstract

The focus of this project is competitive intelligence. According to Larry Kahaner in Competitive Intelligence, "Competitive intelligence is a systematic program for gathering and analyzing information about your competitors' activities and general business trends to further your own company's goals."

Facing an information overload, business people are beginning to realize that information must be analyzed to produce actionable intelligence. Actionable intelligence has an impact on the bottom line. This new field is growing at an astonishing rate as business people realize that analyzing this information is vital to success.

The purpose of this study is to investigate why business people must use competitive intelligence to be successful in the market place. Competitive Intelligence techniques as well as practical guidelines for establishing a competitive intelligence unit within a business are discussed.

In addition, the project explores legal and ethical issues with a discussion of the U.S. Economic Espionage Act of 1996 which protects "trade secrets" while requiring business to prove they took reasonable steps to protect their secrets. The ethics code of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals is examined in theory and practice. The project also discusses the need to establish procedures for protecting information and suggestions for employee training. A sample competitive intelligence search is described and the information gathered is analyzed to show how it could be used to improve a company's competitive position.

Discussion with a competitive intelligence professional highlights the techniques and procedures currently used by business. Trends in the field and its future growth are also explored.

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