ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that merely obtaining information on competitors while vital is not sufficient. It looks at how the function is actually performed at present and offers some reflections on obtaining better results from it. The book provides a theoretical framework for understanding how companies compete and the forces shaping the competitive environment. It offers a scheme for describing a firm's resources and operations, the internal drivers of its performance. The book examines planning research and creating a knowledge base. It outlines a scheme for understanding industry sectors and exploiting the many sources of sectoral information. The book devotes to the final part of the intelligence process testing and then disseminating the analyst's findings. The quest for business intelligence is as old as any form of economic activity. It concerns making comparisons between companies and determining their relative positions in terms of various competitive strengths and deficiencies.
