Purpose

This study investigates competitive intelligence (CI)-related practices in companies, including process, scope and organizational structure. As these aspects have not been sufficiently discussed in the literature, the study objective is to determine (1) the type of CI process being employed, (2) whether the CI scope is limited to competitor analysis or spans a broader business environment and (3) whether the CI process and scope vary depending on organizational CI.

Design/methodology/approach

An interview was conducted at two types of Japanese companies: one established a CI department to implement CI, whereas the other did not establish a CI department and conducted CI in an ad hoc manner. Multicase studies were performed to examine companies with different organizational structures.

Findings

The CI scopes included a broad range of factors (e.g. technology, customers, markets, suppliers, economy, society, politics, legislation and regulation), and not only competitor analysis. An established CI department did not guarantee a well-organized CI process. Furthermore, the lack of such a department did not preclude systematic CI processes or activities.

Originality/value

The authors classified the CI in the companies the authors inspected as either systematic (organized CI) or ad hoc (unorganized CI) methods. The advantages and disadvantages of both are discussed. The authors found the promotion mechanisms in company-wide CI process, which can cause intelligence transfers from CI to absorptive capacity processes.

中文翻译：

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日本公司的竞争情报实践：多案例研究

目的

本研究调查公司中与竞争情报 (CI) 相关的实践，包括流程、范围和组织结构。由于文献中没有充分讨论这些方面，研究目标是确定 (1) 所采用的 CI 流程的类型，(2) CI 范围是否仅限于竞争对手分析或跨越更广泛的商业环境，以及 (3) ) CI 过程和范围是否因组织 CI 而异。

设计/方法/方法

采访了两类日本企业：一类设立了CI部门来实施CI，另一类没有设立CI部门，临时进行CI。进行了多案例研究以检查具有不同组织结构的公司。

发现

CI 的范围包括广泛的因素（例如技术、客户、市场、供应商、经济、社会、政治、立法和法规），而不仅仅是竞争对手的分析。一个成熟的 CI 部门并不能保证一个组织良好的 CI 流程。此外，缺乏这样的部门并不排除系统的 CI 流程或活动。

原创性/价值

作者将作者检查的公司中的 CI 分类为系统（有组织的 CI）或临时（无组织的 CI）方法。讨论了两者的优缺点。作者在全公司范围内的 CI 过程中发现了促进机制，这可以导致 CI​​ 从 CI 到吸收能力过程的情报转移。