Antecedents and consequences of competitive intelligence: Conceptual framework and empirical evidence.

Abstract

This dissertation develops a conceptual framework that includes the component parts of competitive intelligence (CI) activities, the antecedents of CI, and the bottom-line benefits of CI activities. Specifically, a five-phase CI process was constructed that included recognition, prioritization, collection, interpretation, and utilization. Antecedents included turbulence and competitiveness in the business environment, the use of information technology (IT) tools, and the dynamics and attributes of the strategic business unit (SBU). Also, we postulated that CI activities would predict an SBU's knowledge of the business environment, an SBU's relations with external constituents, relations within an SBU, an SBU's business performance, and an SBU's confidence in its strategic plans. The findings indicated that CI champion(s) and top management's support are very strong predictors of CI activities. In terms of tangible benefits, the study indicated that CI activities predict an SBU's knowledge of the external business environment, relations within an SBU, and product quality. In turn, an SBU's knowledge of the external business environment and product quality predict the SBU's business performance. Also, product quality and relations within an SBU predict an SBU's confidence in its strategic plans which in turn predicts an SBU's relations with its external constituents. In terms of managerial implications, this study provides very clear evidence of the benefits of CI activities. Furthermore, we found evidence of three key mediating variables; namely, an SBU's knowledge of its external business environment, relations within an SBU, and product quality. The results of this study provides very strong support for organizational efforts to improve CI activities. Moreover, of interest in an era of tight budgets is this study's providing solid evidence that CI is not a tangential activity to be supported only in good financial times. Rather, it is a basic intelligence activity that can facilitate the bottom-line performance of an SBU.