Organizing the competitive intelligence function: A benchmarking study

This article provides information on the current state of industry practice in the areas of competitive intelligence and market intelligence, and—building on a process model the authors previously developed—discusses how to take a closed-loop intelligence process model and evolve it into a living, breathing organization. A benchmarking study of 16 companies was conducted to determine how the market-intelligence function is structured in these enterprises. The study's purpose was to obtain information that can be used as input for organizing and staffing of a market-intelligence function. Implications of how to take a process model and change it into a workable, effective organization are discussed.