Survey on Competitive Intelligence

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Hello:

You are invited to participate in my PhD pilot survey. In this pilot survey, approximately 20 people will be asked to complete a survey that asks questions about competitive intelligence practices in your organization. Competitive intelligence is defined as both a product and a process. As a product, competitive intelligence is the actionable information for strategic decision making and identification of opportunities and threats. As a process, competitive intelligence involves the phases of information acquisition, analysis, dissemination and use in supporting strategies formation and implementation. It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There are no foreseeable risks associated with this project. However, if you feel uncomfortable answering any questions, you can withdraw from the survey at any point. It is very important for me to learn your opinions.

Your survey responses will be stricly confidential and data from this research will be reported only in the aggregate. Your information will be coded and will remain confidential.

Thank you very much for your time and support. You may start the survey now by clicking on the Continue button below.

How important to your organization are trends and events of each environmental sector?

	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important
Customer sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Competitor sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Supplier sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Technological sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Regulatory sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Economic sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Socio-cultural sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Human resources sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Global sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Organizational sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

What is the rate of change taking place in each environmental sector?

	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high
Customer sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Competitor sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Supplier sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Technological sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Regulatory sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Economic sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Socio-cultural sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Human resources sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Global sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Organizational sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

What is the level of complexity of each environmental sector?

	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high
Customer sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Competitor sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Supplier sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Technological sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Regulatory sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Economic sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Socio-cultural sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Human resources sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Global sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

Organizational sector	Low	Fairly low	Medium	Fairly high	Very high

How important to your organization in acquiring Competitive Intelligence from each environmental sector?

	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important
Customer sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Competitor sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Supplier sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Technological sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Regulatory sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Economic sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Socio-cultural sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Human resources sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Global sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Organizational sector	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

How frequently do you acquire CI about each environmental sector?

	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year
Customer sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Competitor sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Supplier sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Technological sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Regulatory sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Economic sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Socio-cultural sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Human resources sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Global sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

Organizational sector	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Few times a year	Less than once a year

How frequently do you use the following sources to acquire Competitive Intelligence?

	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little
Customers	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Competitors	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Business associates	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Government officials	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Newspapers, periodicals	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Government publications	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Broadcast media the Internet & extranets	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Industry, trade associations	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Conference, seminar, trade show, business trip	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Superior, board members	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little
Subordinate managers	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Subordinate staff	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Internal memo, circulars	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Internal reports	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Company library	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

Electronic information services / intranets	Very great deal	Great deal	Some	Little	Very little

How important to your organization is the use of Competitive Intelligence for the following purpose/role?

	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important
Supporting strategic decision making	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Identifying early warning for threats	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Identifying blind spots and opportunities	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Performing industrial benchmarking	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Supporting strategic planning and implementation	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Supporting competitor assessment and tracking	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Performing counterintelligence	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

How important to your organization are the following strategic decisions?

	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important
Merger & acquisition	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Strategic alliance	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Market entry/exit	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Vertical integration	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Capacity expansion	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

New product/service development	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Diversification	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Divestment	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Technology adoption	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Global	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important
Organization	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

How frequently do you use Competitive Intelligence in the following strategic decision making activities?

	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always
Merger & acquisition	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Strategic alliance	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Market entry/exit	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Vertical integration	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Capacity expansion	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

New product/service development	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Diversification	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Divestment	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Technology adoption	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Global	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always
Organization	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

How frequently do you use Competitive Intelligence from each source in your strategic decision making activities?

	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always
Customers	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Competitors	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Business associates	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Government officials	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Newspapers, periodicals	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Government publications	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Broadcast media the Internet & extranets	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Industry, trade associations	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Conference, seminar, trade show, business trip	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Superior, board members	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always
Subordinate managers	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Subordinate staff	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Internal memo, circulars	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Internal reports	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Company library	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

Electronic information services / intranets	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always

In comparison to our competitors, the products which we provide to our customers are best described as:

Products that are more innovative, and continually changing.

Products that are fairly stable in certain markets while innovative in other markets.

Products that are stable and consistently defined throughout the market.

Products that are in a state of transition, and largely respond to opportunities and threats in the marketplace.

In contrast to our competitors, we have an image in the marketplace that:

Offers fewer, select products which are high in quality.

Adopts new ideas and innovations, but only after careful analysis.

Reacts to opportunities or threats in the marketplace to maintain or enhance our position.

Has a reputation for being innovative and creative.

The amount of time our organization spends on monitoring changes and trends in the marketplace can best be described as:

Lengthy: We are continuously monitoring the marketplace.

Minimal: We really don’t spend much time monitoring the marketplace.

Average: We spend a reasonable amount of time monitoring the marketplace.

Sporadic: We sometimes spend a great deal of time and at other times spend little time monitoring the marketplace.

In comparison to our competitors, the increases or losses in demand that we have experienced are due most probably to:

Our practice of concentrating on more fully developing those markets which we currently serve.

Our practice of responding to the pressures of the marketplace by taking few risks.

Our practice of aggressively entering into new markets with new types of products.

Our practice of assertively penetrating more deeply into markets we currently serve, while adopting new products after a very careful review of their potential.

One of the most important goals in our organization in comparison to our competitors is our dedication and commitment to:

Keep our costs under control.

Analyze our costs and revenues carefully, to keep costs under control and to selectively generate new products or enter new markets.

Insure that the people, resources and equipment required to develop new products and new markets are available and accessible.

Make sure we guard against critical threats by taking any action necessary.

In contrast to our competitors, the competencies (skills) which our managerial employees possess can best be characterized as:

Analytical: their skills enable them to both identify trends and then develop new products or markets.

Specialized: their skills are concentrated into one, or a few, specific areas.

Broad and entrepreneurial: their skills are diverse, flexible, and enable change to be created.

Fluid: their skills are related to the near-term demands of the marketplace.

The one thing that protects us from its competitors is that we:

Are able to carefully analyze emerging trends and adopt only those which have proven potential.

Are able to do a limited number of things exceptionally well.

Are able to respond to trends even though they may possess only moderate potential as they arise.

Are able to consistently develop new products and new markets.

More so than many of our competitors, our management staff in our organization tends to concentrate on:

Maintaining a secure financial position through cost and quality control.

Analyzing opportunities in the marketplace and selecting only those opportunities with proven potential, while protecting a secure financial position.

Activities or business functions which most need attention given the opportunities or problems we currently confront.

Developing new products and expanding into new markets or market segments.

In contrast to many of our competitors, our organization prepares for the future by:

Identifying the best possible solutions to those problems or challenges which require immediate attention.

Identifying trends and opportunities in the marketplace which can result in the creation of product offerings which are new to the industry or reach new markets.

Identifying those problems which, if solved, will maintain and then improve our current product offerings and market position.

Identifying those trends in the industry which our competitors have proven possess long-term potential while also solving problems related to our current product offerings and our current customers’ needs.

In comparison to our competitors, our organization structure is:

Functional in nature (i.e. organized by department—marketing, accounting, personnel, etc.).

Product or market oriented.

Primarily functional (departmental) in nature; however, a product- or market-oriented structure does exist in newer or larger product offering areas.

Continually changing to enable us to meet opportunities and solve problems as they arise.

Unlike our competitors, the procedures we use to evaluate performance are best described as:

Decentralized and participatory encouraging many organizational members to be involved.

Heavily oriented toward those reporting requirements which demand immediate attention.

Highly centralized and primarily the responsibility of senior management.

Centralized in more established product areas and more participatory in new product areas.

How important to your organization are the following performance measures?

	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important
Return on asset	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Operating profit	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Revenue growth	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Profit growth	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Market share	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Increase in market share	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Organizational learning	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

Overall performance	Not important	Fairly unimportant	Of some important	Fairly important	Very important

How do you rate your organizational performance in relative to your major competitors over the last three years?

	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best
Return on asset	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

Operating profit	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

Revenue growth	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

Profit growth	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

Market share	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

Increase in market share	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

Organizational learning	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

Overall performance	Among the worst	Bottom half	Average	Top half	Among the best

What is your position in the organization?

CEO

General Manager

Managing Director

Departmental Manager

CI Manager

Others (Please specify)

What is your highest education qualification?

Secondary

Diploma

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

PhD/Doctorate

Which industry best describe your main business?

Consumer products

Industrial products

Trading services

Finance

Hotels

Construction

Mining

Plantations

Trusts

Closed end fund

Others (Please specify)

What is the total number of employee in your organization?

Below 50

50 – 100

101 – 200

201 – 300

301 – 400

Above 400

Where is the location of the formal Competitive Intelligence unit in your organization?

A separate department by itself

Corporate planning

Finance

Library/information service

Marketing/market research

Research & Development

No formal Competitive Intelligence unit (Please stop here)

Others (Please specify)

How long has the Competitive Intelligence unit been established in your organization?

year(s)

How many full time staff is assigned to the Competitive Intelligence unit?

1 employee

2 – 5 employees

6 – 9 employees

10 employees and above

What type of Competitive Intelligence practices is taken place in your organization?

Ad hoc

Continuous – comprehensive

Continuous – focus

Project-based

Comments / Suggestions for improvement?

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Survey on Competitive Intelligence

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