Abstract
The study examines the ontological similarity between the concept of competitor orientation and questionable intelligence-gathering efforts. Respondents from the hotel industry were surveyed with self-administered questionnaires. Exploratory factor analysis was carried out to identify the structure underlying variables of market orientation and ethical judgment on questionable intelligence-gathering efforts. The results suggest that the surveyed hotel managers are unable to distinguish the legitimate tactics of competitor orientation from the questionable practice of industrial espionage.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali Köseoglu, M., Ross, G., & Okumus, F. (2016). Competitive intelligence practices in hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 53, 161–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.11.002.
Colakoglu, T. (2011). The problematic of competitive intelligence: How to evaluate and develop competitive intelligence. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 24, 1615–1623.
Crane, A. (2010). In the company of spies: When competitive intelligence gathering becomes industrial espionage. Business Horizons, 48, 233–240.
Dawes, J. (2000). Market orientation and company profitability: Further evidence incorporating longitudinal data. Australian Journal of Management, 25(2), 173–199. https://doi.org/10.1177/031289620002500204.
Dev, C. S., Agarwal, S., & Krishna Erramilli, M. (2008). Market-driven hotel brands: Linking market orientation, innovation, and performance. Hospitality Review, 26(1), 1–9.
Ettlie, J. E., & Subramaniam, M. (2004). Changing strategies and tactics for new product development. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 21(2), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0737-6782.2004.00060.x.
Fitzpatrick, W. M., & Burke, D. R. (2003). Competitive intelligence, corporate security and the virtual organization. Advances in Competitiveness Research, 11(1), 20–45.
Gordon, I. (1989). Beat the competition: How to use competitive intelligence to develop winning business strategies. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Harris, L. C. (2001). Market orientation and performance: Objective and subjective empirical evidence from UK companies. Journal of Management Studies, 38(1), 17–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00226.
Holmström, L. (2010). Industrial Espionage and Corporate Security: The Ericsson Case (No. 87; Reports of the Police College of Finland).
Horowitz, R. (2011). Competitive intelligence, law, and ethics: The economic espionage act revisited again (and hopefully for the last time). Competitive Intelligence and Trade Secret Law, 14(3), 41–47.
Kohli, A. K., & Jaworski, B. J. (1990). Market orientation: The construct, research propositions, and managerial implications. Journal of Marketing, 54(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251866.
Maune, A. (2014). Competitive intelligence and firm competitiveness: An overview. Corporate Ownership and Control, 12(1–6), 533–542. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv12i1c6p1.
Narver, J. C., & Slater, S. F. (1990). The effect of a market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54(4), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251757.
Ng K. S. M., & Spence, L. J. (2002). Investigating the limits of competitive intelligence gathering: Is mystery shopping ethical? Business Ethics: A European Review, 11(4), 343–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8608.00294.
O’Dwyer, M., & Ledwith, A. (2010). Size matters: Market orientation and NPD in small and large firms. International Journal of Product Development, 12(2), 107–125. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPD.2010.034991.
Schultz, N. O., Collins, A. B., & McCulloch, M. (1994). The ethics of business intelligence. Journal of Business Ethics, 13(4), 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871677.
Trim, P. R. J. (2002). Corporate intelligence and transformational marketing in the age of the Internet. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 20(5), 259–268. https://doi.org/10.1108/02634500210441503.
Tucker, D. S. (1997). The federal government’s war on economic espionage. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law, 18(6), 1109.
Varadarajan, R. (2017). Research on market orientation: Some lessons shared and issues discussed in a doctoral seminar. AMS Review, 7, 26–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-017-0094-7.
Vedder, R. G., Vanecek, M. T., Guynes, C. S., & Cappel, J. J. (1999). CEO and CIO perspectives on competitive intelligence. Communications of the ACM, 42(8), 108–116. https://doi.org/10.1145/310930.310982.
Walter, A., Auer, M., & Ritter, T. (2006). The impact of network capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation on university spin-off performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 21(4), 541–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2005.02.005.
Zairi, M. (1995). Moving from continuous to discontinuous innovation in FMCG: A re-engineering perspective. World Class Design to Manufacture, 2(5), 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1108/09642369310095201.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chan, P.C.L., Chan, J.H.T., Au, A.K.M. et al. Are hotel managers taught to be aggressive in intelligence gathering?. Asian J Bus Ethics 9, 417–424 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-020-00117-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-020-00117-4