Dissemination of Competitive Intelligence

The paper argues that competitive intelligence is a vital function and attempts to study how it is distributed, especially by technologies, within organizations. Related topics, the sources of competitive intelligence, and who distributes and receives competitive intelligence, are also addressed. A literature-based study is extended by a quantitative survey of members of the Society of Competitive Information Professionals (SCIP) and email interviews with a self-chosen sample of respondees. The paper concludes that the distribution of competitive intelligence can be aided by technology but to be effective must be primarily ‘person-focused’. Competitive intelligence itself needs to be seen as a form of knowledge management rather than an information provision function. This has implications for sources and for the professional roots of those who provide competitive intelligence. Evaluation of competitive information provision is seen as a next step for research.