A project management approach to competitive intelligence
Abstract
between competitive intelligence (CI) and project management (PM). These disciplines coincide
in their threefold approach to action, collection of results, and ability to react in response to
environmental signs. However, the academic and professional literature has not explored the
possible synergies between CI and PM, with the exception of the seminal proposals by Prescott
in 1988 and 1999. The aim of this opinion article is to propose a new methodological approach
for the production and transfer of CI in accordance with the international standards of PM. The
methodology consists of an inductive reasoning process from specific observations and evidence
gathered in our professional experience as CI practitioners over twenty years, contrasted with
the findings of the scientific literature, the PMBOK® Guide of the Project Management
Institute, and with the CI model proposed by the most relevant Spanish technical standards in
R&D&I management and strategic intelligence management. The paper discusses the vision of
intelligence production and dissemination in a project with five phases or groups of processes:
initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure. Also, the responsibilities of
the human intelligence team are exposed. This proposal could be an alternative to the
departmental-based intelligence cycle model more aligned with the organizational culture and
the usual operational practices and business processes of companies, founded on the design and
deployment of projects with a specific beginning and end that is carried out to create a product,
service or unique result. It is concluded also that there is a need for undertaking experimental
implementation and case studies of this proposal in companies and their assessment by future
academic studies.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
AENOR Asociación Española de Normalización.
UNE 166006:2011. Gestión de la I+D+i:
Sistema de vigilancia e inteligencia = R&D&I
management: Technological watch and
competitive intelligence system. Madrid:
AENOR.
AENOR Asociación Española de Normalización y
Certificación. 2015. UNE-CEN/TS 16555-
EX:2015 Gestión de la innovación. Parte 2:
Gestión de la inteligencia estratégica =
Innovation management. Part 2: Strategic
intelligence management. Madrid: AENOR.
Alnouraki, M. and Hanano, A. 2017. Integration
of business intelligence with corporate
strategic management. Journal of Intelligence
Studies in Business, 7(2): 5-16.
Calof, J. L. and Wright, S. 2008. Competitive
intelligence: A practitioner, academic and
inter-disciplinary perspective. European
Journal of Marketing 42(7-8): 717-730.
Calof, J., Richards, G. and Santilli, P. 2017.
Integration of business intelligence with
corporate strategic management. Journal of
Intelligence Studies in Business, 7(3): 62-73.
Clark, R. M. 2004. Intelligence analysis: a targetcentric
approach. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Corbin, J. and Strauss, A. 2008. Basics of
qualitative research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
CRAYON. 2018. State of market intelligence.
Retrieved from https:/www.crayon.co/state-ofmarket-
intelligence
Drucker, P.F. 1995. Managing in a time of great
change. New York: Truman Talley Books.
Erickson, S. and Rothberg, H. 2012. Intelligence
in action: strategically managing knowledge
assets. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Esteban-Navarro, M. A. and Carvalho, A. V.
Producción y transferencia de
inteligencia. In J. L. González-Cussac ed.,
Inteligencia. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, pp.
-170.
Fehringer, D., Hohhof, B. and Johnson, T. 2006.
State of the art: competitive intelligence. A
competitive intelligence foundation research
report, 2005-2006, full report. Alexandria, VA:
Competitive Intelligence Foundation.
Retrieved from
static.canalblog.com/storagev1/vtech.canalblo
g.com/docs/f_060608_stateofart_sum.pdf
Flynn, S. V and Korcuska, J. S. 2018. Grounded
Theory Research Design: An Investigation
into Practices and Procedures, Counseling
Outcome Research and Evaluation, 9(2): 102-
, doi.org/10.1080/21501378.2017.1403849
García-Alsina, M. and Ortoll-Espinet, E. 2012. La
Inteligencia Competitiva: evolución histórica y
fundamentos teóricos. Gijón: Trea.
García-Madurga, M. A. and Esteban, M. A. 2018.
Inteligencia Competitiva y Dirección de
Empresas. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.
Global Intelligence Alliance. 2013a. Intelligence
process – turning data into insight. Retrieved
from https://www.m-brain.com/wpcontent/
uploads/2015/04/10847.pdf
Global Intelligence Alliance. 2013b. The state of
market Intelligence in 2013: Global MI Survey
findings. Retrieved from https://www.mbrain.
com/wpcontent/
uploads/2015/04/10848.pdf
Grant Thornton. 2016. Women in business;
Turning promise into practice. Grant
Thornton International Business Report 2016.
Retrieved from
https://www.grantthornton.global/globalasset
s/wib_turning_promise_into_practice.pdf
Hulnick, A. S. 2006. What´s wrong with the
intelligence cycle? Intelligence and national
security 21(6): 959-979.
Kahaner, L. 1998. Competitive intelligence: how
to gather, analyze and use information to
move your business to the top. New York, NY:
Touchstone.
McGonagle, J. J. 2007. An examination of the
'Classic’ CI Model. Journal of competitive
intelligence and management 42: 71-86.
McGonagle, J. J. 2016. Competitive Intelligence.
In: P. Oleson ed, The guide to the study of
Intelligence. Falls Church, VI: Association of
Former Intelligence Officers, pp. 55-60.
Pellissier, R. and Nenzhelele, T. 2013. Towards a
universal competitive intelligence process
model. South African Journal of information
management 152: art. 567. Retrieved from
https://sajim.co.za/index.php/sajim/article/vie
w/567
Prescott, J. E. 1999. The evolution of Competitive
Intelligence: designing a process for action.
APMP professional journal, spring, 37-52.
Retrieved from http://files.paulmedley.
webnode.com/200000023-
ce398c7e/Competitive%20Intelligence%20A
-Z.pdf
Prescott, J. E. and Smith, D. C. 1988. A projectbased
approach to competitive analysis.
Strategic Management Journal, septemberoctober,
reprinted in I.E.E.E. Engineering
Management Review 16(2): 25-37.
Project Management Institute. 2017. A guide to
the project management body of knowledge:
PMBOK Guide. Washington, DC; Newtown
Square, PA: Project Management Institute,
th ed.
Solberg-Søilen, K. 2011. Management
Implementation of Business Intelligence
Systems. Inteligencia y seguridad 9: 46-67.
Solberg-Søilen, K. 2016. A research agenda for
intelligence studies in business. Journal of
Intelligence Studies in Business, 6(1): 21-36.
UNE Asociación Española de Normalización.
UNE 166006:2018. Gestión de la I+D+i:
Sistema de vigilancia e inteligencia = R&D&I
management: Monitoring and Intelligence
system. Madrid: AENOR Internacional.
Vedder, R. G., Vanecek, M. T., Guynes, S. and
Cappel, J. J. 1999. CEO and CIO perspectives
on Competitive Intelligence. Communications
of the ACM 42(8): 109-116.
Zafary, F. 2020. Implementation of business
intelligence considering the role of
information systems integration and
enterprise resource planning. Journal of
Intelligence Studies in Business, 6(1): 59-74.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37380/jisib.v10i3.636
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
JISIB is indexed by Web of Science (Emerging list), ESCI, SCOPUS, EBSCO, DOAJ, Google Scholar, EconBib and SCImago, and is ranked as a Level 1 publication by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services and the Finnish Publication Forum.
Journal Index by SCIMAGO