Too little knowledge can be dangerous thing

Conjuring up images of cloaks and daggers, hidden cameras and bullet-proof cars, corporate intelligence is a growing area of specialisation within business - and one in which New Zealand falls behind other countries.

An Auckland University of Technology survey shows that only 21 companies (10 per cent of the 212 that responded) had a formally integrated competitive intelligence unit.

This compares with 15 per cent in Australia and a world average of 20 per cent.

AUT lecturer Brent Hawkins, who conducted the survey, said the results pointed to flaws in the way companies approached strategic planning. "What is of more concern is that 13 per cent of the senior managers surveyed did not know what CI was," he said.

Competitive or business intelligence is information about competitors and the marketplace. It can range from informal use of rumours, competitor audits and market research, through to data mining and electronic data searching, industry and co-operative surveys, and sending staff to job interviews at competing companies.

The most common methods used were gathering information directly from customers or the sales staff, or "reverse engineering" (buying a competitor's product and stripping it down to analyse its construction).

Hawkins, whose consultancy company Marketing Projects specialises in this area, said companies in the United States and France were among the most sophisticated in competitive intelligence.

Local companies often believed their isolation protected them. But Hawkins said companies could not have their heads stuck in the sand as competitive intelligence was an essential tool in the global marketplace.

"We [New Zealand] are behind the eight-ball and we've got to do something about it," he said. "The benefits of competitive intelligence are valid for all sizes and types of organisation.

"Being aware of what competitors are doing in the marketplace enables senior management to make sound decisions.

"It is also a key to business growth in the domestic and export markets."

The extent of competitive intelligence came down to ethical boundaries. "We don't go through rubbish bins or condone the use of electronic surveillance methods," Hawkins said.

Full details of Hawkins' survey are due to be published this month. He said the report showed little had been learned in New Zealand about competitive intelligence since the last significant study was made in 1997.

Hawkins wants tertiary institutions to introduce competitive intelligence courses into MBA study.