Global Developments in Competitive Intelligence
Ruth StanatSIS International Research, USA
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Competitive intelligence has existed since the beginning of world trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. Trade within Europe and between Europe and Asia prompted businesses to keep abreast of their competition. During the pre-industrial and post-industrial periods, Europe and North America concentrated on building their domestic markets. To stay competitive, both small and large businesses had to informally monitor their competitors. Clearly, competitive intelligence methods during this period were very rudimentary and were largely observational.
The postWorld War II period brought a dramatic change to...