Influence of competitive intelligence success on business competitive advantage: A conceptual framework

Abstract

Companies must obtain credible data on market indicators in order to face competitive challenges in today's business world effectively. An effective competitive intelligence system is, therefore, an essential requirement for attaining competitive advantage goals as spelt out in firms' missions and visions. However, despite the importance of competitive intelligence as a driver of firm competitive advantage, there are scant studies that investigate the various facets of competitive intelligence (e.g., competitor's intelligence, marketing intelligence, technological intelligence, and social and strategic intelligence about the competitive environment) that, in practice, impact firms’ competitive advantage. The current study tries to fill the gap by developing conceptual framework researchers and managers could employ to explore the interplay between firms competitive intelligence and competitive advantage.