Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a process of enhancing marketplace competitiveness through a greater understanding of a firm’s competitors and the competitive environment. This process is unequivocally ethical. It involves the legal collection and analysis of information regarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of business competitors.

CI helps the senior management in companies of all sizes to make informed business decisions and strategies. Competitive Intelligence is a crucial part of the emerging knowledge economy. By analyzing the competition using CI, business can anticipate the changes in the marketing environment rather than to wait and then react to the situation.

Although Marketing Research plays a significant role in CI, CI has its own framework and discipline. The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) consists of members conducting CI for large and small companies, providing management with early warning of the changes in the competitive landscape. Visit http://www.scip.org for related information.