Competitive intelligence process and tools for intelligence analysis

Purpose - The purpose of this survey research is twofold. First, to study and report the process that is commonly used to create and maintain a competitive intelligence (CI) program in organizations. And second, to provide an analysis of several emergent text mining, web mining and visualization-based CI tools, which are specific to collection and analysis of intelligence. Design/methodology/approach - A range of recently published research literature on CI processes, applications, tools and technologies to collect and analyze competitive information within organizations is reviewed to explore their current state, issues and challenges learned from their practice. Findings - The paper provides executive decision makers and strategic managers a better understanding of what methods are available and appropriate to the decisions they must make and the steps involved in CI undertaking. Originality/value - The findings of this research provide the managers of CI programs a context for understanding which tools and techniques are better suited to their specific types of problems; and help them develop and evaluate a usable set of tools and best practices to apply to their industry.