Competitive Intelligence for Information Professionals

Book description

Information professionals should be able to take a proactive role as a strategic partner in their organization's competitive intelligence. Their role needs to focus on the "outside-in" approach, based on their organization's strategic needs and objectives. Competitive Intelligence for Information Professionals explores the role of strategic information and intelligence in organizations, and assesses the values and needs of intelligence in organizations. The book provides guidance on how to work strategically with competitive intelligence, methods for monitoring and analysis and a process-oriented approach. Chapters include discussions on how news monitoring and competitive intelligence interact and how this offers opportunities for cooperation between different departments. Cases from the authors’ own experiences when working with competitive intelligence in international corporations are also included.



  • Competitive intelligence (CI) is a new area for Information professionals
  • Offers perspectives on a new trend within the library and information sector
  • Provides a comprehensive approach to CI

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Chandos Information Professional Series
  5. Copyright
  6. About the authors
  7. Foreword
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. List of abbreviations
  10. Introduction
  11. 1: The value of competitive intelligence
    1. Abstract
    2. Definition of competitive intelligence
    3. Why is the importance of competitive intelligence increasing?
    4. What range should competitive intelligence include?
    5. Who should interact?
    6. When is the right time?
    7. How – three different approaches
    8. Porter’s five forces
    9. Case: Adding value
    10. Critical success factors for competitive intelligence
    11. A question of survival
  12. 2: The right leadership adds value to competitive intelligence
    1. Abstract
    2. Where do we start?
    3. What does leadership mean?
    4. Challenges of business and organisational management
    5. Information professionals take the lead
    6. Future leadership development
    7. Future changes and preparations
  13. 3: Competitive intelligence from start to end
    1. Abstract
    2. Systematic competitive intelligence
    3. Types of competitive intelligence operations
    4. Work smarter with PCMAC
  14. 4: Plan and prioritise
    1. Abstract
    2. Why, who, what
    3. Case: Bottom-up approach for drawing the business environment map
    4. Case: Top-down approach for drawing the business environment map
    5. Blind spots
    6. Critical success factors
  15. 5: Capture and manage
    1. Abstract
    2. Capture
    3. The sources
    4. Case: Networks
    5. Information research
    6. Manage
    7. Information overload
    8. Filter and structure information
    9. Presentation of the result
    10. References for validation
  16. 6: Analyse and communicate
    1. Abstract
    2. Analyse
    3. Analysis methods
    4. Early warning systems
    5. Working with analyses
    6. Communicate
    7. Deliverables
    8. Case: Technology intelligence briefs
  17. 7: The organisational side of competitive intelligence
    1. Abstract
    2. Organisational conditions
    3. Three poisonous Ps
    4. Organising competitive intelligence
  18. 8: Knowledge management – a vital component of competitive intelligence
    1. Abstract
    2. Knowledge management adding value to competitive intelligence
    3. Synergies between knowledge management and competitive intelligence
    4. The different aspects of knowledge sharing
    5. Case: Knowledge sharing
    6. Tacit and explicit knowledge
    7. Knowledge sharing – the aspects of space and time
    8. Knowledge management and IT systems
    9. Case: Information audit in the pharma industry
    10. Do not forget information retrieval!
    11. Explicit knowledge and documentation
    12. Social media
  19. 9: The human side of competitive intelligence
    1. Abstract
    2. Qualified competitive intelligence requires qualified people
    3. Perception of the surrounding world
    4. Case: Reacting to signals in the surrounding world
    5. Competence for successful performance
    6. Case: Information professional’s competence – CIFOR reviews
    7. The competence of the information professional
    8. Ethical competitive intelligence
  20. 10: The role of the information professional in competitive intelligence
    1. Abstract
    2. Information professionals add value to competitive intelligence
    3. The different roles in competitive intelligence work
    4. Information professionals and analysis
    5. Scenarios of the contributions of information professionals
    6. Case: Information professional’s role in the technology intelligence process
  21. 11: Promoting competitive intelligence: the importance of marketing, communication and evaluation
    1. Abstract
    2. The importance of marketing, communication and evaluation
    3. Definition of marketing
    4. The difference between marketing and branding
    5. The AIDAS model
    6. Choosing manners and methods of marketing
    7. Case: The battle for visibility
    8. Target groups
    9. Marketing and communication plan
    10. Communicating results
    11. Evaluation
    12. Measurements
    13. Case: Statistics from intelligence portals
    14. Challenge the measurements and the methods
  22. 12: Tools and methods
    1. Abstract
    2. A toolbox
    3. LOTS strategic design for innovation
    4. SMART
    5. PEST
    6. Relation matrix brainstorming
    7. Impact analysis
    8. SWOT
    9. Porter’s five forces
    10. Benchmarking
    11. War gaming
    12. Scenario planning
    13. Why, what, who, when and how?
    14. User investigation
    15. AIDAS
    16. Key performance indicators
    17. Lastly . . .
  23. References
  24. Index

Product information

  • Title: Competitive Intelligence for Information Professionals
  • Author(s): Charlotte Håkansson, Margareta Nelke
  • Release date: January 2015
  • Publisher(s): Chandos Publishing
  • ISBN: 9780081002438