Strategic Intelligence for the Future 2

4 Formal Information Research

Activities in strategic or economic intelligence are inseparable from access to information. Without wishing to be exhaustive, since this is not the aim of this book, it is still necessary to set out a number of facts on this research, to provide practitioners with topics for reflection and action. In the domain of economic intelligence, the businesses and institutions involved should question their relationship with information. This may be done using the work of Timothy Powell [POW 95] on information metabolism as a starting point.

Figure 4.1. Positioning the business

Figure 4.1 makes it possible to focus on the capacities needed on two specific points: the capacity to seek information and the capacity to analyze it. Implementing a system for analysis, discussion with experts; if the information provided to them is incomplete or indeed biased at the outset, it will not lead to good results.

4.1. The importance of the time factor in scientific data

It can be seen that in the majority of cases, the time between the idea and publication of the work to which it gave rise is around two years.

Figure 4.2. The importance of time

This has an important implication for strategy. In fact, it is certainly necessary to know which institutions or researchers ...