Competitive intelligence or CI is necessary ethical discipline for the taking of decisions based on the understanding of the competitive environment. Research shows that companies with established programs of CI get greater profits for action than those of the same industry that does not have programs of CI.
It is so important for that they to take decisions in companies of small or average port to know what it is for coming, as is for the presidents of the great companies listed in Fortune 500. Thus,is possible to a company to be practising some form of CI and not perceive it. Any employee who visits an event, he reads a periodical, or talks with friends of the same economic sector, is making research (one of the components of the CI).
But other components of the CI generally do not meet in the businesses. Currently the CI add value to the collection of information and the strategical planning when introducing a system disciplined not only to the collection of information, but also when carrying through analyses and spreading its "findings" of form that are useful to the necessities of the decision takers.
The speed of the technological development and the growth of the global commerce, means that the current environment business-oriented is transforming more quickly than before. The entrepreneurs and average small professionals of the e companies, cannot more give themselves to the luxury to depend on the instinct or of the intuition when they take strategical decisions in its businesses. In much sectors (especially where the competition is each bigger time), the consequence to take a decision missed, can be to take the company to lose sales or to the bankruptcy.
Research shows that competitive intelligence increases the "level of comfort" of the strategical planning of the direction of the company. But after all what it is same Competitive Intelligence? Many confuse with Emotional Intelligence, others with Management of the Knowledge, others with Business Intelligence and still others speak in espionage. Prescott and Miller, comment that the "work of Sun Tzu on military intelligence, continues being read and are considered the father of intelligence.
For journalist Larry Kahaner, competitive intelligence is a systematic program of collection and analysis of the information on activities of the competitors and general trends of the businesses, aiming at to reach the goals of the company.
Therefore, Competitive Intelligence or CI is one necessary ethical discipline for the taking of decisions based on the understanding of the current and future competitive environment.