Today’s companies face their toughest competition ever, as such to succeed in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace, companies must move from a product-and-selling philosophy to a customer-and-marketing philosophy. This chapter spells out in more detail how companies can go about outperforming competitors to win, keep, and grow customers. To win in today’s marketplace, companies must become adept not only in managing products but also in managing customer relationships in the face of determined competition and a difficult economic environment. Understanding customers is crucial, but it’s not enough. Building profitable customer relationships and gaining competitive advantage requires delivering more value and satisfaction to target customers than competitors do. Customers will see competitive advantages as customer advantages, giving the company an edge over its competitors.

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DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND
MANAGEMENT STUDIES
PROGRAMME: MBA MARKETING & STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT
COURSE TITLE: COMPETITIVE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
COURSE CODE: STM713
TOTAL CREDITS: 3
BY
NGANG PEREZ (MAJOR 1)
PAN AFRICAN INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT
-WEST AFRICA (PAID-WA) BUEA
LECTURE NOTES FOR COMPETITIVE
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

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WEEK 3:
SESSION 3/ CHAPTER 3 COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
1.0 Brief Introduction:
Today’s companies face their toughest competition ever, as such to succeed in today’s fiercely
competitive marketplace, companies must move from a product-and-selling philosophy to a
customer-and-marketing philosophy. This chapter spells out in more detail how companies can go
about outperforming competitors to win, keep, and grow customers. To win in today’s
marketplace, companies must become adept not only in managing products but also in managing
customer relationships in the face of determined competition and a difficult economic
environment. Understanding customers is crucial, but it’s not enough. Building profitable
customer relationships and gaining competitive advantage requires delivering more value and
satisfaction to target customers than competitors do. Customers will see competitive advantages
as customer advantages, giving the company an edge over its competitors.
3.1 Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, students should be able to:
 Describe the Concept of Competitive Intelligence
 Vividly explain the Competitive Intelligence Cycle
 Outline the Types of Competitive Intelligence
 List out Sources of Competitive Intelligence
 Differentiate Industrial Espionage against Competitive Intelligence
3.2 Definition of Key Terms
(a) Competitive Intelligence: Competitive intelligence is the act of collecting and analyzing
actionable information about competitors and the marketplace to form a business strategy. Its aim
is to learn everything there is to know about the competitive environment outside your business to
make the best possible decisions about how to run it.
(b) Industrial Espionage: Industrial espionage, economic espionage, corporate spying or
corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely
national security. Economic espionage is conducted or orchestrated by governments and is
international in scope, while industrial or corporate espionage is more often national and occurs
between companies or corporations
3.3 Main Content
Business success is as much determined by the actions of competitors as well as the actions of the
organization itself. For example, the success of Coca Cola is partly determined by the actions of

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Pepsi Cola. This chapter explores the increasingly vital practice of competitive intelligence and
examines how organizations can use such a function to support/develop successful marketing
strategies. Gathering, analyzing and disseminating intelligence relating to competitors’ strategies,
goals, procedures and products greatly underpins competitiveness.
3.3.1 The Concept of Competitive Intelligence
Competitive intelligence has something to do with high definition imagery. The term brings to the
mind an image of highly confidential or classified activities involving private detectives, telephoto
lenses and hidden microphones. While such images are not completely unappealing, they are far
removed from the truth. Put simply, competitive intelligence is a structured, ethical and legal
process designed to gather, analyze and distribute data/information relating to current, and
potential, competitors. By design, competitive intelligence gathering must be performed quickly
and ethically, must be all-encompassing, and must utilize both published and unpublished sources.
It is successful when a business has a detailed enough portrait of the marketplace so that it may
anticipate and respond to challenges and problems before they arise.
The key to successful competitive intelligence is the ability to turn basic raw data into actionable
intelligence. Actionable intelligence involves providing decision-makers with timely, appropriate
information that facilitates action. Additionally, competitive intelligence stresses the need to
protect business activities against competitors’ intelligence gathering operations.
The need for competitive intelligence (CI) has always been recognized. Indeed, Sun Tzu’s The Art
of War, written in China around 400 BC, makes many references to CI: “Know the enemy and
know yourself, in a hundred battles you will never be defeated”.
Such reference is equally applicable to today’s business world. Given the established business
trends of (a) globalization, (b) rapid technological development and (c) merger and acquisition, CI
is likely to be a strategic priority for most organizations. Currently, management information tends
to fall into two main categories. First, reporting and control information; this monitors what has
happened internally within any given period. Secondly, information relating to key performance
indicators providing measures of success/failure relative to pre-set benchmarks (e.g. accounting
ratios, profit and loss accounts, etc.). Such data is of course necessary, but managers increasingly
need to be forward-looking. CI serves this purpose.
CI can provide a number of useful functions within any organization. These can be summarized as
follows:
● Anticipating competitors’ activities: The most obvious advantage of CI is in provision of
system(s) to consider the likely action of specific competitors. The various strengths and
weaknesses of the opposition can be considered and frameworks established to anticipate and pre-
empt competitor initiatives. Early warning of competitors’ actions enables the organization to
judge the seriousness of a threat and develop appropriate responses. The process may also uncover
potential competitors who are about to target your existing customer base or industry activities.
● Analyzing industry trends: By examining the actions of groups of competitors within specific
segments and/or market leaders it is possible to proactively establish growing trends. If

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management can spot the convergence of technologies and operating procedures, it is possible to
‘steal a march’ on competitors.
● Learning and innovation: The CI process offers tremendous opportunities to learn. CI forces
managers to have an external focus. By constantly reviewing the opposition, we are better able to
develop, adapt and innovate our own product offerings. For example, the process of reverse
engineering – involving detailed examination of competitors’ products – can provide a valuable
insight into improving our own products. Scenario planning exercises, which anticipate
competitors’ actions, can enhance the organization’s understanding of the competitive
environment.
● Improved communication: Key principles of CI are: (a) the delivery of concise, timely
information to decision-makers and (b) the ability to share information across functional
boundaries and provide wider access to knowledge. These general concepts do much to enhance
overall corporate communication and promote teamwork. Correctly applied, CI concepts enable
staff to overcome many problems associated with information overload.
The reality is that most organizations have some form of competitive intelligence. For example,
they conduct benchmarking exercises, commission market research or monitor competitors’
prices. CI offers the opportunity to bring together the various strands of information that already
exist into one cohesive, practical system.
3.3.2 Competitive Intelligence Cycle
Kahaner (1997) developed the concept of the CI cycle (see Figure 3.1). This basic concept is
derived from government agency intelligence gathering operations (e.g. the CIA).
Figure 3.1 Competitive Intelligence Cycle

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3.3.2.1 Planning and directing
The cycle begins with establishing intelligence requirements. It is important to prioritize
information needs and set appropriate time-scales/ reporting periods. This phase requires a detailed
understanding of what business decisions are being taken and how information will be used.
When prioritizing information it is important to differentiate between ‘targeted intelligence’ –
collected to achieve a specific objective – and ‘awareness intelligence’ – collecting general
information, which will be ‘filtered’ in order to build a general picture of the competitive
environment. Targeted intelligence is used to resolve specific problems, while awareness
intelligence is designed to monitor the competitive environment on an on-going basis. The
planning process is concerned with obtaining the correct balance between the two.
3.3.2.2 Collection
Based on established intelligence requirements, a collection strategy is now developed. Pollard
(1999) advocates translating key intelligence requirements into more specific key intelligence
questions and then identifying and monitoring intelligence indicators. These intelligence indicators
are identifiable signals that are likely to precede particular competitor actions (see example in
Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2 Intelligence Questions Vs Indicators
Common sources of competitive information are considered later in this chapter.
3.3.2.3 Analysis
Analysis is concerned with converting raw data into useful information. The process involves
classification, evaluation, collation and synthesis.
Once information has been processed informed judgements relating to competitors’ intent can be
established. The classification stage may involve tagging data as: (a) primary – facts directly from
the source (e.g. interviews, annual reports, promotional material, etc.) and (b) secondary – reported
by third parties (e.g. newspaper comment, books and analysts’ reports).

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Data can then be prioritized in terms of importance. When necessary, triangulation can be used to
confirm findings. This involves cross-checking an item against a number of sources. The CIA
(1999) offers the following guidelines relating to classification of data/information: (a) Fact –
verified information, something known to exist or have happened; (b) Information – the content
of reports, research and analytical reflection on an intelligence issue that helps analysts evaluate
the likelihood that something is factual and thereby reduces uncertainty; (c) Direct information –
information which can, as a rule, be considered factual, because of the nature of the sources, the
sources’ direct access to the information, and readily verifiable content; (d) Indirect information –
information that may or may not be factual, the doubt reflecting some combination of the sources’
questionable reliability, lack of direct access to information and complex content; and (e) Sourcing
– depicting the manner, or method, in which the information was obtained, in order to assist in
evaluating the likely factual content.
History teaches us the importance of evaluation and classification. Most military, political and
commercial intelligence failures have not been due to inadequate information collection, but due
to poor evaluation of available information.
Many analytical tools/techniques exist to facilitate management decision making and such
techniques provide vehicles for forecasting/speculating competitive intent. Common techniques
included:
● SWOT/Portfolio analysis: The classic SWOT or portfolio analysis (e.g. Boston Matrix, Ansoff
Matrix, etc. see later) is applied to the competitor(s) in question.
● Behavioral traits: While not an absolute indicator of future action, it is true to say that
organizational leaders tend to repeat past successful behavior and avoid previous mistakes.
Therefore, to some degree, future behavior is likely to be predictable. Understanding the behavior
and reactions of rival corporate leaders to given sets of circumstances can be highly revealing of
future intent.
● War gaming: In-house teams’ take on the simulated role of competitors for a workshop exercise.
The team is provided with actual data and asked to simulate the strategies/actions they believe the
competitor is most likely to follow. Their responses are then analyzed in a de-brief session.
Numerous advantages stem from this process, such as: identifying competitors’ weaknesses,
enhancing teamwork and identifying information ‘gaps’ relating to knowledge of competitors.
● Synthesis reports: Information from numerous sources is collated under common key themes.
It is possible to electronically scan large amounts of text for key words (e.g. brand names, patent
applications, etc.) and selectively extract/flag information. Techniques such as word and pattern
analysis can identify underlying themes and trends.
● Mission statement analysis: The main aim of analysis is to predict what a competitor will do.
Therefore it is possible to analyze competitors’ mission statements in order to establish their goals,
values and generic strategies. Analyzing how mission statements have changed or been interpreted
over time is highly insightful. Rumors of likely activity can be checked against a rival stated
mission. Does the rumor seem to equate with overall corporate aims?

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3.3.2.4 Dissemination
CI needs to be tailored to meet user needs. Effective dissemination is based on clarity, simplicity
and appropriateness to need. CI should (if merited) form the basis of competitive action plans. A
useful test is to consider what are the implications of the intelligence not being passed on. If there
are no real implications, it is questionable whether it is necessary. Research shows that many CI
projects fail during this phase. Therefore, presentation of CI is critical. Pollard (1999) recommends
developing structured templates for reports, as follows: (1) Information – bullet points, graphics,
etc.; (2) Analysis – interpretation of information; (3) Implication – what could happen; and (4)
Actions.
3.3.3 The Competitive Landscape: An Overview
Competitive intelligence is not simply competitor analysis or "knowing your enemy." Rather, it is
knowing your competitors and the competitive landscape, as well as customers and how they fit
into every aspect of the marketplace. It is also knowing how the marketplace and a business may
be disrupted by a wide variety of events, how distributors and other stakeholders could be
impacted, and how new technologies can quickly render invalid every assumption.
Competitive intelligence means different things to different people within an organization. For
example, to a sales representative, it may mean tactical advice on how best to bid for a lucrative
contract. To top management, it may mean unique marketing insights to gain market share against
a formidable competitor. For any group, the ultimate goal of competitive intelligence is to help
make better decisions and enhance organizational performance by discovering risks and
opportunities before they become readily apparent.
3.3.4 Types of Competitive Intelligence
Competitive intelligence activities can be grouped into two main types, tactical and strategic.
Tactical is shorter-term and seeks to provide input into issues such as capturing market share or
increasing revenues. Strategic focuses on longer-term issues such as key risks and opportunities
facing the enterprise. Competitive intelligence is different from corporate or industrial espionage,
which use illegal and unethical methods to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
The discussion about CI by itself is not wholly strategic, nor tactical – it’s a tool, and can be applied
to either strategic or tactical goals. Company executives use CI for strategic decisions: Product
development, market entrance, and evaluating merger and acquisition targets, to name a few.
America's best companies tap their sales forces for information that will help them make these
corporate decisions. They will ask sales personnel to participate in SWOT (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats) analysis exercises. In return, corporate shares CI with their sales troops
through competitive reports and newsletters.
In this sense, CI is like a hammer. You can use it to hammer a nail, but you can also use it to drive
a tent stake, separate items that are nailed together, chip a rock, or power a chisel. The hammer
did not change; the application did.

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Whether CI is strategic or tactical has much less to do with specific methods than with which group
is using them, and to what end. Win/Loss makes an excellent example of how a common CI
method can be applied to both tactical and strategic goals.
As a tactical tool, Win/Loss can help close more deals and structure the sales process in a way that
aligns with the buyer’s preferences. Tactically, Win/Loss findings can also be used to build battle
cards, mini-handbooks of talking points for salespeople. Even more tactically, the sales team can
take what they learn from Win/Loss to focus their approach to win a specific deal.
As a strategic tool, Win/Loss works by helping companies better understand how their value
proposition is perceived in the market, and how the company’s market position compares to
competitors’. Used this way, Win/Loss fits into the strategic development of the company’s long-
term product and service offerings. It also fits into strategy by identifying where the current
offering and portfolio can be adjusted to better fit market needs and differentiate from competitors’
positions.
While Win/Loss is one of the clearer CI tools with dual strategy and tactical applications, it is
hardly the only one. Other such CI tools include competitor monitoring, patent tracking, and
mystery shopping. What is common to these dual-use tools is that how they are used depends on
the project requirements more than on the tool itself
Win Loss Analysis explains why buyers choose the winning vendor in competitive sales
opportunities, and why they don’t choose the losing vendors.
There is nothing quite like the feeling of closing a sale with a successful team effort, especially
when you win against a top competitor. But after the celebration fades, how often do teams have
an accurate sense of which aspect of the offering or sales process resonated with the prospect?
Other times, when a top rival wins the day, negative emotions set in - disbelief, disappointment,
maybe even anger. Above all, the number one question facing organizations following a lost
opportunity is: why did we lose?
Getting the answer to this question is not necessarily a straightforward process: marketers may not
be close enough to the individual prospect or opportunity, and sales teams are not in an objective
position to capture unbiased feedback from prospects. According to Anova’s research consulting
firm, salespeople only get the complete and honest truth as to why they win or lose 40% of the
time. To put another way, 60% of the data organizations have on why they lose deals is incomplete
and incorrect. Without accurate data, how can an organization know where to improve?
Therein lies the need for independent win / loss analysis. Win / loss analysis is a forensic market
research exercise that focuses on highlighting how companies’ marketing messaging, sales efforts,
and product offerings are perceived from the prospect’s or customer’s perspective. The practice
involves talking with prospects/customers who just evaluated the marketplace and learning more
about their decision process and which solution they ultimately chose.

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3.3.5 Sources of Competitive Intelligence
“When I first began my career, there was no Internet, no cell phones, no world wide web.
Intelligence was captured the old fashioned way—by spies and sleuthing. We were lucky to get
tidbits of competitive intelligence when interviewing buyers about markets, products, and growth
trends the old fashioned way—over the telephone. Today, all of that has changed. Information
about competitors is easier than ever to find, usually with just a few clicks of a mouse and strokes
of a keyboard”. Ray Kroc
While most companies can find substantial information about their competitors online, competitive
intelligence goes way beyond merely trawling the Internet, on the premise that the most valuable
information is seldom — if ever — easily accessible online. A typical competitive intelligence
study includes information and analysis from numerous sources. These include the news media,
customer and competitor interviews, industry experts, trade shows and conferences, government
records and public filings. But such easily accessible, widely disseminated information is only the
start. It must also encompass the full breadth of a company's stakeholders, including key
distributors and suppliers, as well as customers and competitors.
3.3.6 Prisoner’s Dilemma in Business Decisions
Prisoner's Dilemma is a situation described in game theory, a branch of economics, and also highly
used in competitive intelligence analysis. It analyzes market decisions made by rivals under
conflict and uncertainty. In a typical Prisoner's Dilemma scenario two parties under threat have
the option of protecting themselves at the expense of the other party. For example imagine Chris
and Steven are suspects in a number of robberies in a neighborhood. Police investigation is made
but results prove difficult to arrest Chris or Steven due to little or no sufficient evidence. However,
the police are able to detain both men. But the evidence placing them at the robberies is weak.
Thus the Police need confessions in order to convict either man during a private interrogation. An
officer makes Steven a deal if he confesses and testifies against Chris then he is free to go. However
when the officer talks to Chris alone he offers him the same deal. If Chris testifies against Steven
he is free to go.
Unbeknown to either man is that if they both testify against each other each receives a sentence of
10 years. If one testifies and the other does not. The person who does not testify receives 20 years.
And if they both remain silent each gets one year without cooperation between the two men. The
dominant strategy is for Chris and Stephen to rat each other out as the possible outcome of zero to
10 years imprisonment is better than the alternative possibility of 1 to 20 years.
In business the situation is similar amongst competitors in an industry especially between strategic
group members. A pricing war between two identical firms can also be described as a prisoner's
dilemma. Rather than fiercely undercutting the competitor's price to gain market share at the cost
of profit, companies cooperating on a set price for similar products can share the margins without
cooperation.
A classic example of prisoner’s dilemma in the real world is encountered when two competitors
are battling it out in the marketplace. Many sectors of the economy have two main rivals. In the

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U.S., for example, the fierce rivalry between Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP) in soft drinks,
has given rise to numerous case studies in business schools. Other fierce rivalries include Apple
versus Samsung in the global mobile phone sector. In the Cameroon context we find fierce
competition between Brasseries and GUINNESS Cameroon, MTN and ORANGE Cameroon,
CIMENCAM and Dangote Cement.
Consider the case of MTN versus ORANGE, and assume the former is thinking of cutting the price
of its calls. If it does so, ORANGE may have no choice but to follow suit for its calls to retain its
market share. This may result in a significant drop in profits for both companies. A price drop by
either company may therefore be construed as defecting, since it breaks an implicit agreement to
keep prices high and maximize profits. Thus, if MTN drops its price but ORANGE continues to
keep prices high, the former is defecting while the latter is cooperating (by sticking to the spirit of
the implicit agreement). In this scenario, MTN may win market share and earn incremental profits
by selling more airtime. Hope you understand?
Let’s assume that the incremental profits that accrue to MTN and ORANGE are as follows:
 If both keep prices high, profits for each company increase by $500 million (because of
normal growth in demand).
 If one drops prices (i.e. defects) but the other does not (cooperates), profits increase by
$750 million for the former because of greater market share, and are unchanged for the
latter.
 If both companies reduce prices, the increase in airtime consumption offsets the lower
price, and profits for each company increase by $250 million.
3.3.7 Industrial Espionage Vs Competitive Intelligence
Industrial espionage is the illegal and unethical theft of business trade secrets for use by a
competitor to achieve a competitive advantage. Industrial espionage is conducted by companies
for commercial purposes rather than governments for national security purposes. Industrial
espionage may also be referred to as "corporate spying or espionage," or "economic espionage."
It describes covert activities, such as the theft of trade secrets by the removal, copying or recording
of confidential or valuable information in a company for use by a competitor. It may also involve
bribery, blackmail and technological surveillance. Industrial espionage is most commonly
associated with technology-heavy industries, particularly the computer, biotech, aerospace,
chemical, energy, and auto sectors, in which a significant amount of money is spent on research
and development (R&D).
Industrial espionage should be differentiated from competitive intelligence, which is the legal
gathering of public information by examining corporate publications, websites, patent filings and
the like, to determine a corporation's activities. Take the following hypothetical examples
1. You are sitting on an airplane next to a consultant from a competing organization. He has his
laptop open and is working on a proposal. Do you lean back and read that proposal?

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2. The airline passenger gets up to go to the bathroom, leaving a folder of documents on his seat.
Do you go through it?
3. You find some key documents in a hotel lobby relating to a competitor’s bid on the same
project you are working on. Do you keep the documents or turn them in to the hotel unread?
Effective Competitive Intelligence (CI) plays a major role in determining what your business rivals
WILL DO before they do it.
• Effective gathering of information under CI can be helpful to gain foreknowledge of the
competitor's plans and to plan one’s business strategy to countervail their plans.
• Some common tools/methods for gathering competitor’s information:
 Online Databases
 Surveys and Interviews
 Reverse Engineering of competitor's products
 On-site Observations
• While some methods/tools are ethical, others may strictly not be so! No “standard” tool for all
CI activities: choose the “tool” depending on factors like time, finance, priority of data, likelihood
of obtaining data etc.
• A competitor can foil CI of a rival: fake interviews as potential employer/jobseeker to gather
information about the rival
• Counter-intelligence is vital- you are being watched too! - defending one’s organization’s secrets
is vital. Securing computer systems, confidentiality/nondisclosure obligations on employees can
be useful.
• Requisites to be followed by Competitive Intelligence:-
 Must abide by all applicable laws - whether domestic or international
 Must accurately disclose all relevant information
 Must provide honest and realistic recommendations and conclusions in the execution of
one's duties etc
3.3.7.1 Some tangible benefits of CI
Identification of new opportunities - e.g. identify new trends before your markets and competitors
Early warning of competitor moves - enable counter measures
Minimizing investment risks - detect threats and trends early on
Better customer interaction – inherit intensified customer market view
Better market selection & positioning - understand where your offer fits and discover untapped or
under-served potential

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3.3.7.2 Competitive Intelligence Vs Corporate Espionage
Espionage is ‘spying’ and Corporate Espionage (CE) is espionage conducted for “commercial
purposes”.
 CE is the "theft of trade secrets through illegal means such as wiretaps, bribery and cyber
intrusions. “ (As per definition by Business Week Online)
 Going beyond browsing websites, corporate publications, market survey etc. into theft of
trade secrets, bribery, blackmail, and technological surveillance.
 CE done to obtain information ‘outside’ public domain/’restricted’/’confidential’.
 CE: usage of illegal, unethical or deceptive means to obtain restricted/confidential/secret
information of the rival (CI: use of ethical & legal means of obtaining information)
 CI is completely ethical and legal; CE is exactly the opposite, i.e. unethical and illegal.
 Illegal/unethical means of obtaining ‘secret’/’restricted’/’confidential’ information
include:
 Stealing information;
 Misrepresenting one’s identity to gather information;
 Offering bribes for obtaining confidential information;
 Cybercrimes like ‘hacking’;
 “Dumpster diving”;
 Programs like “Trojan Horse”
 CI & CE co-exist (there is a thin, often blurred line!)
 CI practitioners (in general) abide by all laws & regulations; not so in CE
 CE: Internal (by rogue/disgruntled employees) & External (by hackers)
3.3.7.3 Competitive Intelligence and Information Technology
Information Technology (IT) is an integral part of the competitive intelligence process- it is the
basic technological support system for competitive intelligence.
IT as a tool of CI process makes use of networks, information systems, databases, search machines,
internet:
IT: invaluable tool- but could be a profound potential for abuse
Some provisions of Information Technology Act, 2000 (“ITA”) seek to curb misuse/abuse of IT
tools for illegal collection of information
3.4 Conclusion
Competition, and how to stay ahead of your competitors, has been a widely researched subject
within the marketing and strategic management literature and researchers like Kotler’s (1994) 4Ps,
Barney’s (1991) sustained competitive advantage and Porter’s (1980) competitive strategy, just to
mention a handful of acclaimed researchers, has formulated a wide amount of theoretical
frameworks on how to analyze your business and package your products, services and marketing
to reach your goals. These widely acclaimed publications set a new standard for how businesses
should be run to best compete against competition. Researchers soon started to understand that

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what you were doing with your own business were equally important as what your competition
were doing, to stay ahead you needed to map your markets and competition. The area of
competitive intelligence (CI) was born.
3.5 Summary
Competitive intelligence, is the legal gathering of public information by examining corporate
publications, websites, patent filings and the like, to determine a corporation's activities. Some
tangible benefits of CI are identification of new opportunities, early warning of competitor moves,
minimizing investment risks and better customer interaction. Information Technology (IT) is an
integral part of the competitive intelligence process- it is the basic technological support system
for competitive intelligence. Corporate Espionage (CE) is espionage conducted for “commercial
purposes”. Industrial espionage is the illegal and unethical theft of business trade secrets for use
by a competitor to achieve a competitive advantage.
The key to successful competitive intelligence is the ability to turn basic raw data into actionable
intelligence. Actionable intelligence involves providing decision-makers with timely, appropriate
information that facilitates action. Additionally, competitive intelligence stresses the need to
protect business activities against competitors’ intelligence gathering operations. Kahaner (1997)
developed the concept of the CI cycle. It describes a four stage process which include planning,
collection, analysis and dissemination.
Competitive intelligence is not simply competitor analysis or "knowing your enemy." Rather, it is
knowing your competitors and the competitive landscape, as well as customers and how they fit
into every aspect of the marketplace. Competitive intelligence activities can be grouped into two
main types, tactical and strategic. Tactical is shorter-term and seeks to provide input into issues
such as capturing market share or increasing revenues. Strategic focuses on longer-term issues
such as key risks and opportunities facing the enterprise. While most companies can find
substantial information about their competitors online, competitive intelligence goes way beyond
merely trawling the Internet, on the premise that the most valuable information is seldom — if
ever — easily accessible online. Prisoner's Dilemma is a situation described in game theory, a
branch of economics which analyzes market decisions made by rivals under conflict and
uncertainty. Espionage is ‘spying’ and
3.6 Review Question
i. What do you understand by the Concept of Competitive Intelligence?
ii. Kahaner (1997) developed the concept of the CI cycle. With the aid of a diagram explain
its various stages
iii. What are the various sources of competitive intelligence and which one is the most
appropriate in your view. Justify!
iv. With the aid of examples explain the prisoners’ dilemma and how its influences decision
making in the business milieu.

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v. What difference can you make between industrial espionage and competitive intelligence?
As a business expert and consultant which will you advice your client to conduct and why?
3.7 References
 Aware Competitive Intelligence Case Studies, www.marketing-intelligence.co.uk, 2005
 Cr. West, C. West - Competitive Intelligence, Palgrave, 2001
 D. L. Blenkhorm, C. S. Fleisher – Competitive Intelligence and Global Business,
Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005
 J. Leibowitz, Strategic Intelligence: Business Intelligence, Competitive Intelligence and
Knowledge Management, CRC Press 2006
 J. Niem, A. A. Aziz, GIAC – Espionage – Utilizing Web 2.0, SSH Tunneling and Trusted
Insider, SANS Publications, 2008
 P. Nakra – Info-Terrorism in the Age of Internet, Challenges and Initiatives, Journal of
Competitive Intelligence and Management, 2008
3.8 Task
 Read the notes on unit 3.3.6 (Prisoner’s Dilemma in Business Decisions) and use other
examples both international and domestic to prove your point.
3.9 Reading Assignment/Suggested Readings
 Read the second chapter to this book titled “Cr. West, C. West - Competitive Intelligence,
Palgrave, 2001” from https:// techtarget.com/business/ competitive intelligence=pdf, December
18, 2018
3.10 Reading Assignment Supplementary Source
 You Tube Video lecture: Game Theory: The Science of Decision-Making
 Video highlights: - Game theory is looking at human interactions through the lens of
mathematics and applied in business
 Note: To access the video, copy and paste this Playlist
 URL: https://youtu.be/MHS-htjGgSY?t=74
 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHS-htjGgSY&t=73s. Retrieved 18
Decemberber 2018,

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3.11 Written Assignment
 What difference can you make between industrial espionage and competitive intelligence?
As a business expert and consultant which will you advice your client to conduct and why?
3.12 Discussion Assignment
 Discuss in groups what you understand by the Concept of Competitive Intelligence
3.13 Graded Quiz
 Will be provided by the end of the lecture