Competitive Intelligence reporting ways of shaping Top Management’s strategic decision

Victoria Avon

Master's thesis

Reporting methods of Competitive Intelligence among Top Management in Francophonie area

Abstract:

In organizations, the process of creating a viable strategy for the company is primordial to ensureits development and its success on the long-term. Managers and Top Management are equippedwith strategic tools and methodologies relatively developed depending on the geographical areathey are operating in, but also on the industry they perform their business. The goal is to notice thesignals (“Weak signals”) alerting on new trends and possible changes affecting the business. Thesetools are necessary to acquire an external understanding of the practices chosen by the competition,as well as to prepare the company for changes and strategically decide what the next action shoulddo and how it should be done.Competitive Intelligence is one of the major components used by companies to get the saidunderstanding regarding external practices as well as state of the competitive environment.However, this requires an in-depth methodology to correctly transmit the information to the topmanagement to create a flow of intelligent information enabling the company to adapt in time andobtain a competitive advantage. As such, the thesis is aiming at a comparison of the differentCompetitive Intelligence Reporting methods, with a focus on the dissemination part.The focus lies in the methodology of the reports created; How is the reporting of such informationbeing transmitted to the top management, and how will it shape their strategic decision -makingprocess. Especially considering the fact that the necessary time resources needed to grasp theperceived necessary information from the report might not be aligned with their availability.The findings of this present research demonstrated the influence of the CI on the monitoring aspectof the environment using numerical metrics. The CI findings are also a guideline to confirm theirexisting established decisions. Furthermore, the COVID-19 disrupted the Top management’s flowof information as well as the future disseminated results. As the TM read the findings, the optimaldissemination mean was found to be concise with the possibility of retrieving additionalinformation. Lastly, the dissemination model can be enhanced by implementing the notion of CIas a state of mind within the company.

Abstract:

In organizations, the process of creating a viable strategy for the company is primordial to ensureits development and its success on the long-term. Managers and Top Management are equippedwith strategic tools and methodologies relatively developed depending on the geographical areathey are operating in, but also on the industry they perform their business. The goal is to notice thesignals (“Weak signals”) alerting on new trends and possible changes affecting the business. Thesetools are necessary to acquire an external understanding of the practices chosen by the competition,as well as to prepare the company for changes and strategically decide what the next action shoulddo and how it should be done.Competitive Intelligence is one of the major components used by companies to get the saidunderstanding regarding external practices as well as state of the competitive environment.However, this requires an in-depth methodology to correctly transmit the information to the topmanagement to create a flow of intelligent information enabling the company to adapt in time andobtain a competitive advantage. As such, the thesis is aiming at a comparison of the differentCompetitive Intelligence Reporting methods, with a focus on the dissemination part.The focus lies in the methodology of the reports created; How is the reporting of such informationbeing transmitted to the top management, and how will it shape their strategic decision -makingprocess. Especially considering the fact that the necessary time resources needed to grasp theperceived necessary information from the report might not be aligned with their availability.The findings of this present research demonstrated the influence of the CI on the monitoring aspectof the environment using numerical metrics. The CI findings are also a guideline to confirm theirexisting established decisions. Furthermore, the COVID-19 disrupted the Top management’s flowof information as well as the future disseminated results. As the TM read the findings, the optimaldissemination mean was found to be concise with the possibility of retrieving additionalinformation. Lastly, the dissemination model can be enhanced by implementing the notion of CIas a state of mind within the company.

Keywords

Competitive Intelligence, Top Management, Dissemination

Keywords

Competitive Intelligence, Top Management, Dissemination

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 30. 12. 2019

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 17. 9. 2020
• Supervisor: Tomáš Ryška
• Reader: Felipe Martínez

Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze

Master programme / field:
Ekonomika a management / Management