The document discusses the difference between competitive intelligence and corporate espionage. Competitive intelligence involves gathering information from public records and thinking creatively about available public sources, while corporate espionage involves illegally obtaining private information. As business becomes more global, the distinction between legal and illegal information gathering will need to be clearer, and competitive intelligence practices rather than espionage should be used to get necessary information ethically. Learning competitive intelligence strategies can help businesses succeed without resorting to illegal tactics.

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPETITIVE
INTELLIGENCE AND CORPORATE
ESPIONAGE LIES IN HOW THE
INFORMATION IS GATHERED.
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With the resulting information being similar it is often confusing for
people in business to tell the difference, but to your competitors it
makes all the difference. By sticking to the information that is found in
public records and thinking outside the box on the different channels of
public records to peruse you can stay on the more ethical competitive
intelligence side of the argument.
With competitive intelligence not being taught in schools as often as it
is practiced in the business community it stands to reason that many
young entrepreneurs are tempted by an “by any means necessary”
attitude that results in corporate espionage. By learning about the
strategies to successful preform the competitive intelligence gathering
and adhering to business ethics entrepreneurs and company
professionals can have the information that they need without resorting
to espionage.
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Around the world competitive intelligence gathering is rarely taught in
schools and this is a global trend. As more companies are trying to trade
and conduct business internationally, the difference and enforcement
of legal information gathering and espionage will take time and
education.
There is more incentive to learn about the legal competitive intelligence
gathering tactics now so that you can protect your company from
prosecution or legal harm in the future. The increasing business
transactions with countries in Asia, like Russia, will start to facilitate this
discussion and bring to light the corporate espionage that is taking
place.
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The cultural differences in how intelligence is gathered and processed
will continue to fuel the transition towards more ethical and legal
information gathering methods such as competitive intelligence.
The global economy is forcing all of these countries and organizations
that have roots with corporate espionage to start to be prosecuted
which results in a reduced amount of this illegal information gathering.
Being well versed in competitive intelligence and deferring to business
ethics and public records will prevent any gray areas that may straddle
the line of legality.
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The established global business community of the United States and
Europe are going to continue the legal pressure to prevent corruption
and improve global business trading.
Learning how to increase your company’s competitive intelligence while
ensuring that you are not conducting corporate espionage will help to
keep your organization profitable and informed.
It’s not necessarily the information that you gather, but the methods
and tactics that are used to gather the information that make all the
difference.
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7. For additional information about Competitive Intelligence
please visit www.Intelligence2act.com