Big Data Analytics in Building The Competitive Intelligence of Organizations2021International Journal of Information Management

International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102231
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Information Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt
Big Data Analytics in Building the Competitive Intelligence

of Organizations
Jayanthi Ranjan a, Cyril Foropon b, *
a
Department of IT, IMT Nagpur, India
b
Department of Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Technology, Innovation, Management, Montpellier Business School, Montpellier, France
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Over recent years, organizations have started to capitalize on the significant use of Big Data and emerging
Big Data analytics technologies to analyze, and gain valuable insights linked to, decision-making processes. The process of
Competitive intelligence Competitive Intelligence (CI) includes monitoring competitors with a view to delivering both actionable and
Analytical capabilities
meaningful intelligence to organizations. In this regard, the capacity to leverage and unleash the potential of big
Competitive advantage
data tools and techniques is one of various significant components of successfully steering CI and ultimately
infusing such valuable knowledge into CI strategies. In this paper, the authors aim to examine Big Data appli
cations in CI processes within organizations by exploring how organizations deal with Big Data analytics, and
this study provides a context for developing Big Data frameworks and process models for CI in organizations.
Overall, research findings have indicated a preference for a rather centralized informal process as opposed to a
clear formal structure for CI; the use of basic tools for queries, as opposed to reliance on dedicated methods such
as advanced machine learning; and the existence of multiple challenges that companies currently face regarding
the use of big data analytics in building organizational CI.
1. Introduction to uncover new opportunities in organizations (Davenport, 2014).

Therefore, nowadays, more and more firms around the world are
Twenty years ago, Powell and Bradford (2000: 181) stated that competing to understand big data in deeper and clearer ways (Morabito,
“current management approaches to resource-based strategy and core 2015; Rehman, Chang, Battol, & Wah, 2016), in which Big Data ana
competence thinking require extensive gathering to ensure that correct as lytics and business intelligence are considered important information
sumptions are being made about the environment and competitors’ capabil processing mechanisms for organizations and can help to reduce un
ities. Without such intelligence any attempts to develop, maintain and in certainty and equivocality in different types of decision-making pro
many cases even identify the key assets and competences are flawed.” cesses (Kowalczyk & Buxmann, 2014).
The years since then have seen an exponential increase in the vol Value creation for companies has become a major sustainability
ume, variety, velocity, and value of large amounts of data (Larson & factor, in addition to profit maximization and revenue generation, and,
Chang, 2016; Wamba, Akter, Edwards, Chopin, & Gnanzou, 2015), nowadays, modern companies collect Big Data from various inbound
which has led to the emergence of Big Data processing trends, in and outbound data sources with this in mind (Rehman et al., 2016).
particular, fast analytics and data science becoming part of business Initially, the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and cloud
intelligence (Larson & Chang, 2016), or Big Data analytics imple computing technologies has led to better value creation for both the
mentation within organizations dealing with ubiquitous digital data. On customer and the enterprise and, more recently, Competitive Intelli
the one hand, organizations are administered by information technol gence (CI) has attracted abundant attention because of the explosion of
ogy, knowledge, intelligence and wisdom (Davenport & Harris, 2007; data now publicly available through mobiles phones, social media,
Liautaud & Hammond, 2002; Wixom & Watson, 2010) while, on the blogs, wikis, text messages, e-mails, and other electronic digital com
other hand, Big Data (McKinsey Global Institute, 2011) goes beyond the munications; such data from these domains serves as an important in
use of the usual databases and software tools to capture, store, manage strument for building CI. Most of organizations have adopted Social
and analyze, as it involves a broad range of massive and new data types Mobile Analytics Cloud (SMAC)-based data strategies. In the present
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Ranjan), [email protected] (C. Foropon).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102231
Received 4 February 2020; Received in revised form 18 August 2020; Accepted 18 August 2020
Available online 28 September 2020
0268-4012/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J. Ranjan and C. Foropon International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102231
world, Big Data is one of the primary sources of CI (Chen, Chiang, & Dwivedi, Baabdullah, & Ismagilova, 2019); Big Data analytics and
Roger, 2012; Larson & Chang, 2016; Hartmann, Zaki, Feldmann, & supply chain ambidexterity (Wamba, Dubey, Gunasekaran, & Akter,
Neely, 2016), in which Competitive Intelligence (CI) consists of the 2020); factors influencing Big Data projects in organizations (Agarwal,
entire process of transforming unorganized competitor data into stra 2015); Big Data management and value (Borkar, Mayuram, Sangudi, &
tegic knowledge (Tyson, 1998). Adopting Big Data methods for better CI Carey, 2016; Dwivedi et al., 2019; George et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2015;
impact enables information gathering from a large, diverse pool of data Koutroumpis & Leiponen, 2013); Big Data in decision-making processes
towards meaningful insights, trends, patterns, and knowledge for pre and impactful parameters influencing Big Data decisions in organiza
dicting, forecasting, analyzing, describing, prescribing and diagnosing tions (Shamin, Zeng, Shariq, & Khan, 2019; Simkin, 2018); the use of Big
competitor scenarios. As indicated in a systematic literature review on Data in information systems research (Müller, Junglas, Brocke, &
Big Data with cognitive computing, Gupta, Kar, Baabdullah, and Debortoli, 2016; Surbakti, Wang, Indulska, & Sadiq, 2020; utilizing Big
Al-Khowaiter (2018: 78) have stated that “Big Data analytics has gained Data analytics for information systems research: challenges, promises
significant amount of importance as it enables organizations to be ahead of and guidelines; as well as new opportunities for academia to prove the
their competitors.” These insights are extremely important for CI in essence and effect of Big Data on business performance (Batistic & van
achieving better positioning and branding of firms. der Laken, 2019).
To date, research studies on the interface between Big Data analytics Originally, organizations in general have used analytical techniques
and cognitive computing have yet to focus on its implications for deci with statistics and advanced database methods such as data mining (Xu,
sion making (Goes, 2014; Gupta et al., 2018), and academic research on Liao, Li, & Song, 2011), and earlier CI processes required extensive
the effects of Big Data development on firms’ performance is still in its trial-and-error mechanisms using intuition-based qualitative and quan
infancy (Raguseo, 2018). In this regard, Camargo Fiorini, Pais Seles, titative data for modelling. Gownder (2011) has observed that customer
Chiappetta Jabbour, Mariano, and de Sousa Jabbour, 2018: 112) have loyalty is in rapid decline, and there are firms that sell data to organi
stated that “the body of research into Big Data so far lacks an academic work zations on what customers watch, tag, post, listen to, comment on, link,
capable of systematizing the organizational theories supporting Big Data read, like, etc. (Marr, 2017). Big Data gives organizations the ability to
domain.” Accordingly, this paper investigates the extent to which big see things they otherwise would not be able to see. From now on, due to
data models and methods are practiced in CI processes in organizations. the emergence of Big Data tools, organizations will utilize such larger,
A framework is suggested based on gaps identified from the literature more diverse competitor data sets to identify impacts, insights, and in
review. Taking a lead from the gaps identified and the framework congruities. Olszak (2014) investigated how organizational CI needs
defined thereby, the study attempts to find answers to the following information tools and proposed critical success factors. However, a
questions: conceptual framework for the CI cycle from a Big Data perspective has
not yet adequately been addressed. Some prior studies (Matthew &
1 How do organizations build intelligence in CI cycles? Mazzei, 2017) focused on Big Data as a tool and a strategy, whereas
2 Which Big Data methods are practiced in CI processes? other studies (Nasri & Zarai, 2013) presented critical success factors for
CI. Nevertheless, the research question: How are Big Data applications
Building on the research findings, a theoretical argument on the practiced in CI processes? has not yet been addressed. This key aspect has
importance of Big Data methods in CI cycles for greater impact is con not been explored in detail in the extant studies in the literature. Though
structed and then a process model is built. A conjectural approach the potential value generated by Big Data is real and significant
explaining CI requirements and analytical capabilities for organizations (Jagadish et al., 2014), and big data has been recognized as a new form
is then proposed. The discussion section interprets the further relevance of capital (Satell, 2014), there is a need for studies providing a consol
of Big Data in CI operations based on the findings, and the paper con idated framework for organizational CI from a Big Data perspective.
cludes with the managerial implications, future research directions and Nowadays, organizations are interested in finding ways of engaging
the limitations of the study. more with real-time insights dealing with competitors. Organizations
and market research firms believe that Big Data will bring big change,
2. Literature review big value, big return on investment, big competition, and big impact at
large scale in all business domains, including manufacturing, logistics,
According to Frizzo-Barker, Chow-White, Mozafari, and Ha (2016: health care, retail, banking, insurance, financial services, government,
412), who provided a valuable systematic literature review on Big Data etc. (TCS, 2012). Though Big Data is poised to bring change (George
across business scholarship between 2009 and 2014, “although the field is et al., 2014) in products and services with respect to building CI, it has
in its earliest stages of scholarly development, we found clear evidence of the not yet completely evolved into a sustainable social and economic
energy and increasing interest focused on Big Data studies in business.” model. Nonetheless, Big Data is relatively new in social sciences,
Numerous studies have examined Big Data initiatives in organizations. particularly in management and organizational research (George et al.,
These include the Big Data revolution in corporate strategies and man 2014), hence it is prudent to study the impact of Big Data models on CI
agement (George, Haas, & Pentland, 2014); the impact of IT in organi processes.
zational productivity (Chang & Gurbaxani, 2012); Big Data life cycle
research works (Khan, Liu, Shakil, & Alam, 2017); machine learning 2.1. Competitive Intelligence (CI)
frameworks on Big Data (Zhou, Pan, Wang, & Vasilakos, 2017); the
evolution of big data (Lee, 2017); three tier-based big data strategy for Competitive intelligence can, from an organizational perspective, be
organizations (Matthew & Mazzei, 2017); big data usage in media and defined as the collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of
entertainment (Carr, 2013); assessment of skills and needs of Big Data strategic information at the right time for use in the decision-making
projects (Tambe, 2014); big data innovation (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, process (Acharya, Singh, Pereira, & Singh, 2018). Although its prac
2011); the importance of Big Data (Harris, 2013); the adoption of big tical origins date back many decades, its intellectual origins can be
data analytics by e-commerce startups (Behl, Dutta, Lessmann, Dwivedi attributed to Michael Porter, who, in 1980, used the technique of
& Kar, 2019; Dwivedi et al., 2019); Big Data predictive analytics and competitive intelligence to analyze industries and competitors (Fourie,
manufacturing performance (Dubey, Gunasekaran, Childe, Blome, & 1999). In a recent bibliometric review dealing with the main research
Papadopoulos, 2019; Wamba et al., 2017; Mikalef, Boura, Lekakos, and fields related to intelligence, Lopez-Robles, Otegi-Olaso, Porto Gomez,
Krogstie (2019)); Big Data analytics and artificial intelligence pathway and Cobo (2019: 36) have found that Competitive Intelligence is the
to operational performance (Dubey et al., 2020); superior organizational third most frequent thematic area within those mapped, and the authors
performance through Big Data predictive analytics (Gupta, Drave, state that CI “is closely related to other thematic areas such as the
2
management of information and knowledge, decision-making, and business relationships; or even share a geographic technology; but, if the CI in
strategy. […] Competitive Intelligence links the remaining Intelligence ap formation in one of the companies is mostly unstructured in form, then it
proaches and the organization’s strategy to Business Intelligence. This makes will be a hard task to build Big Data models such as digital content
Competitive Intelligence a core model in its own right within the field of analysis, behavioral analysis, clickstream analysis, etc.
strategic management, competitiveness, and the knowledge economy.”
Organizations use CI to gather and analyze information about com 2.2. Big Data
petitors in order to gain an edge in the (Kamboj et al., 2018) marketplace
(Du Toit, 2003; Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2005; Amarouche, Benbrahim, & From now on, businesses will exist in a data-driven economy and
Kassou, 2015; Kamboj, Sarmah, Gupta, & Dwivedi, 2018; Sewdass & Du witness organizational practices that have overcome old strategic
Toit, 2014). The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP, management theories, are redefining information value chains and
2015) defines CI as a systematic and ethical procedure towards gath restructuring to reassess competitive forces. The definition and scope of
ering, analyzing, and managing external business information that Big Data is rather diverse (Dutcher, 2014). In a nutshell, the concept of
impact and affect the company’s plans, decision-making approaches, Big Data consists of the organizational use of massive amounts of data to
and operations. Kahaner (1998) has conceptualized it as a method for support more accurate decision-making processes (Goes, 2014). It refers
monitoring the competitive environment, with the goal of providing not only to the voluminous amounts of data that must be processed and
actionable intelligence in the organization (Chang & Lee, 1992; Walle, stored, but also to the nature of the data (IBM, 2012; Lycett, 2013).
1999; Sewdass & Du Toit, 2014). Ghannay and Mamlouk (2012) have Hardware environments and software tools capture large datasets
defined CI as knowledge and foreknowledge about the external oper within a tolerable elapsed time (Teradata, 2015); it is that data which is
ating environment that ca improve decision making. The CI cycle is a too big, too fast, and too hard to be handled by existing tools (Madden,
methodology for acquiring, gathering, evaluating, and analyzing 2012). Boyd and Crawford (2012) define Big Data as a cultural, tech
unformatted and raw business data and transforming them into finished nological, and scholarly phenomenon that rests on technology, analysis
intelligence for policymakers (Bose, 2008). The literature often de and an induced mythology of uncertainties. Moreover, Frizzo-Barker
scribes CI practice as a five-step formal and informal process, ranging et al.’s (2016) systematic literature review on Big Data showed that “Big
from planning, information gathering and analysis, and information Data remains a fragmented, early-stage domain of research in terms of
dissemination to feedback of intelligence (Kahaner, 1998). There are theoretical grounding, methodological diversity and empirically oriented
cases (Herring, 1998) in which organizations have tried to use every work” (Frizzo-Barker et al., 2016: 403). More recently, Fiorini, Pais
available intelligent mechanism to collect, store and analyze competitor Seles, Chiappetta Jabbour, Barberio Mariano, and de Sousa Jabbour
information, but have struggled to make the best use of the information. (2018) have suggested a research agenda on how to link organizational
CI processes (Gilad & Gilad, 1985; Gilad, 1989; Porter, 1980) focus on theories to Big Data research.
those strategic intelligence issues of highest importance to senior man Originally, Big Data was characterized by the “3 Vs”: Variety, Volume,
agement. CI provides information about the present and future behavior and Velocity (Laney, 2001; Gartner., 2012; IBM, 2012). More recently, “7
of competitors, and the general business environment (Vedder & Vs – Variability, Veracity, Visualization, Value, Validity, Vulnerability, and
Guynes, 2002). It is the first step towards guiding the planning and Volatility – have defined a Big Data ecosystem, with the relevant justi
redesign of processes, products, and organization structures (Guimaraes, fication provided by DeVan (2016) and Firican (2017). Over the years,
2000). Companies using CI to analyze competitors’ strengths and the volume, variety, velocity, and value of Big Data that organizations
weaknesses are better able to predict market development opportunities deal with has increased exponentially (Wamba et al., 2015). All of these
and have superior performance to their competitors (Britt, 2006). In Vs add relevance to the CI cycle. As the diversity of data sources is
formation about competitors is extracted from sources such as media expanding (McKinsey Global Institute, 2011), it is prudent to use Big
(traditional and new), patent data, field visit records, sales force data, Data methods in order to achieve an organizational competitive
trade expositions, customer surveys, annual reports of competitors, in advantage. When customers exchange views or ideas via online media,
terviews with third parties, all media reports, commissioned research, such interactions generate larger data (Archer-Brown, Piercy, & Join
and industry trend reports (Subramanian & IsHak, 1998). CI is intrigued son, 2013; Lazer, 2014). Current disruptive technology trends are
by the continuously evolving industry forces and competitor dynamics seducing organizations to adopt Big Data, thereby moving organizations
in the marketplace (Prescott & Gibbons, 1994). towards data apophenia.
The purpose of CI is to create useful knowledge towards internal The success of Big Data analysis and its accuracy depend heavily on
business promotion and risk reduction through shared information re the tools and techniques used to analyze the data (Bose, 2008). Gandomi
sources (Priporas, Gastoris, & Zacharis, 2005). CI has been used by or and Haider (2015) have provided a consolidated description of Big Data
ganizations for developing smarter and wiser strategies for competitive by integrating definitions from practitioners and academics. There are
advantage (Vedder & Guynes, 2002; Wright & Calof, 2006). Interest some studies (e.g., Fulgoni, 2013; Lazer, 2014; Mishra, Singh, Rana, &
ingly, at a country level, Sewdass and Du Toit (2014) investigated the Dwivedi, 2017; Tihanyi, Graffin, & George, 2015) that show that
current state of competitive intelligence in South Africa and found that analyzing customers through Big Data models generates benefits in
60% of respondents strongly agreed that the most important CI activity precision marketing, new product development, and realigning business
in their organization was to use CI to remain cognizant of government strategy to maintain sustainable competitive advantage. Big Data
legislative trends, which points to the need to improve stakeholders’ methods such as text mining, web mining, social network analysis,
awareness of the spectrum of roles that CI can play in value creation. mobile and multimedia mining constitute foundational technologies in
The importance of organizational Business Intelligence (BI) and CI organizational business intelligence and analysis (Chen et al., 2012).
lies in enhancing customer satisfaction and increasing profitability Boyd and Crawford (2012) have expressed doubts about the extent to
(Olszak, 2014). While organizational business intelligence chiefly con which such large-scale massive Big Data methods have provided insights
centrates on collecting and analyzing data such as customer data, sup or not. Information dissemination, acquisition (Barua, Mani, &
plier data, etc., CI focuses on competitor data. Makadok, Barney, and Jay Mukherjee, 2012) and analysis, which can be used to further business
(2001) have defined CI as “informating market intelligence.” Other re strategy, are crucial to any organization. With a view to providing a
searchers have addressed CI as a knowledge process directed at finding valuable understanding of Big Data analytics, Gandomi and Haider
competitors and analyzing blind spots in the activities of CI (Gilad, (2015) have provided a brief overview of Big Data analytical techniques
Gordon, & Sudit, 1993). There could be two firms that aggressively for both structured and unstructured data.
compete in the same market with the same products; may collaborate in Organizations consider cost, flexibility, functionality, leadership,
research and development; have linkages in supplier–customer culture, and time as critical success factors for implementing Big
3
Intelligence (Ranjan, 2008). Studies on Big Data (Bendle & Wang, 2016; greater organizational CI success. Irrespective of the nature of the
Erevelles, Fukawa, & Swayne, 2016; Hsinchun, Chiang, & Storey, 2012; business, the organization’s scope includes constantly updating its in
Salehan & Kim, 2016; Vasarhelyi, Kogan, & Tuttle, 2015) have, on one ternal business strategies based on competitor movements. Under
hand, introduced structured data, which typically include online and standing the nature of competitor data, both structured and
offline ratings, questions with dichotomous answers, or questions with a unstructured, plays a critical role in analyzing CI cycles. Advanced Big
limited or inadequate choice of responses whereas, on the other hand, Data methods enable organizations to receive alerts on real-time market
unstructured data is amorphous, usually available in different data fluctuations, competitors’ moves, and customer mobility. The Big
formats, and must be preprocessed to be usable for insights. Ren, Zhang, Data–CI application interface processes the data into meaningful in
Liu, and Sakao (2019) and Bughin, Chui, and Manyika (2010) have set sights. The framework presented below underlines the diversity of the
out Big Data-based start-up studies for businesses. Gupta et al. (2019) external and internal data (see Fig. 1). Data preprocessing is essential
and Blazquez & Domenech (2018) have analyzed the economics of Big before applying Big Data methods in CI cycles. Without proper data
Data from a business point of view. Wang, Kung, and Byrd (2018) dis cleaning mechanisms, intelligence or smart insights cannot be built.
cussed Big Data methods and its benefits for healthcare organizations. Collecting CI data without quality and security layers would induce
Big Data has also been viewed as a strategic decision-making tool (Goth, organizational mistrust, create data ownership conflicts, increase costs,
2015; Salehan & Kim, 2016; Duan, Edwards, & Dwivedi, 2019). Big Data and lead to improper customer service, errors and outliers, time delays,
podiums range from the typical common online transaction platforms etc. The CI data collection process should identify authoritative data
used for transactional exchanges and operational exchange through to sources and data entry points. Therefore, there is a need to benchmark CI
virtual platforms, such as social networking threads and clicks, processes using Big Data analytics. CI is always regarded as external
open-design platforms, mobile interaction platforms, and anything that source of information (Chen et al., 2002; Ross, McGowan, & Styger,
constitutes a digital platform (Faraj, von Krogh, Monteiro, & Lakhani, 2012) and Big Data-enabled CI offers great business impact and benefits,
2016). In recent years, the widespread use of digital platforms has such as creating new growth opportunities, being business ready in real
enabled clusters of individual customers to congregate online and pur time situations, enabling faster responses to changes in marketplaces
sue desired products, services and/or shared interests, although these due to competitor movements, and improving strategic plans by iden
may be differentiated by time and space (Faraj et al., 2016). A small tifying potential vulnerabilities (Bose, 2008; Chen & Das, 2010; Ross
organization with a progressive attitude towards Big Data may be able to et al., 2012). Owing to data sensitivity, privacy, and data-sharing chal
carve out a competitive advantage against a much bigger rival firm lenges, it is always difficult for organizations to change their internal
simply by understanding their niche in the data market better. As long as data strategies following comparison with external, competitor data.
firms have access to rock-hard data – from both internal and external Many firms do not maintain CI databases for unstructured and social
sources – the ingenious analysis of such data is what will produce data. However, owing to the growing demands of Big Data, it is time
competitive advantage. In this regard, for instance, Raguseo’s (2018) organizations to recognize the need to invest in CI and use Big Data
empirical study on the benefits of Big Data technologies demonstrated approaches to understand events in real time, identify any challenging
that these have enabled better products and services to be provided as triggers in competitors’ strategies, and readjust internal promotions or
strategic benefits. As market competition is increasingly transforming policies accordingly.
into data-based races, a better perspective is needed on how Big Data
models in CI cycles can bring competitive advantage. 4. Research methods
3. Conceptual Framework 4.1. design and selection
This section proposes a novel framework to illustrate how organi The research approach adopted in this study is based on grounded
zations can leverage Big Data analytics to enhance business value. There theory (Eisenhardt, 1989; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The clear purpose is
are standalone studies on the integration of BI and CI (Tuta, Zara, Orzan, to understand and offer a conceptual framework as well as define an
& Purcarea, 2014); a theoretical presentation of a scenario-based empirical interpretation of a Big Data methodological approach in
method of CI analysis (Valeriu, 2014); social media (Facebook and organizational CI cycles. Building on the gaps identified in the literature
Twitter)-based competitive analysis using text mining (He, Zha, & Li, review, our study focuses on the following research questions:
2013); critical success factors needed to achieve a successful imple
mentation of KM and CI (Ghannay & Mamlouk, 2012); a conceptual 1 How do organizations build intelligence in CI cycles?
framework for salespeople and CI (Rapp, Agnihotri, & Baker, 2011); 2 Which Big Data methods are practiced in CI processes?
graphical modelling to use Web 2.0 as a new source for mining CI
(Kamal, 2015); the effectiveness of the CI spider tool in addressing some In order to reach our research objectives, an exploratory, theory-
of the problems associated with using Internet search engines in the driven approach was selected (Pagell & Wu, 2009). This work ex
context of competitive intelligence (Chen, Chau, & Zeng, 2002); and the plores how organizations collect and build intelligence, and how Big
downstream impact of internet use on both CI and the organization (Teo Data methods are practiced in CI cycles in organizations. According to
& Choo, 2001). Ketter, Peters, Collins, and Gupta (2016)) have Yin (2008), such an exploratory study is appropriate when addressing
described data challenges in organizations based on a competitive “How?” research questions regarding a contemporary phenomenon.
benchmarking research method. It is evident that, although CI has Indeed, an exploratory study could help in exploring Big Data practices
largely captured the interest of researchers, there is a dearth of as the fields of both Big Data and CI are complex and we need contextual
comprehensive and integrative Big Data method-based frameworks for phenomena to come up with study propositions from organizational
CI processes in organizations. experiences and determine the potential of those thoughts in the given
To distinguish between rivals and partners, the strategic value of Big context. Few studies have explored the role of Big Data applications in
Data in CI plays a critical role. CI personnel are often faced with myriad the context of organizational competitive intelligence processes, and
questions: What kind of data to collect? What are the methods to collect real there is no proven empirical evidence on the implementation of Big Data
time internal and external data? How can competitor data be transformed methods in CI cycles. Therefore, this study arena is still in a nascent
into meaningful patterns and knowledge? What types of insights can be form, and case-study research is appropriate.
predicted, interpreted, and analyzed for better CI? Answers to these key The organizations analyzed in this study belong to the Indian IT
questions will assist corporate strategists in deploying resources and services, FinTech/finance and consumer goods sectors only. The pur
deciphering how their firms’ Big Data investments can translate into pose of choosing only three diverse organizations was twofold.
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Fig. 1. Conceptual framework using Big Data methods for a Competitive Intelligence Process.
Analytical methods and their approaches in competitor analysis differ knowledge of various CI activities, and knowledge of Big Data methods.
from organization to organization. Further, in sectors such as finance, Questions were aimed at establishing the information held by partici
IT, and consumer goods, although the nature of data and decision pants on various topics including their involvement with and knowledge
making differs, the approaches to gathering competitor intelligence in about CI. The next section of questions dealt with various CI activities,
these Indian firms are quite similar. Different hierarchical levels, such as stages of CI development, and CI information sources; the third section
senior-level key professionals and managers with business development, investigated analytical methods for data collection, use of Big Data
strategy and planning, BI, market intelligence, product development, software, decision support for CI, measurement of CI, Big Data ap
and domain expertise were chosen for the firms. The organizations and proaches, etc. Participants were also asked to share their evidence and
profiles were shortlisted on the basis of performance ranking and loca relevant experience. Care was taken during interviews not to point out
tions (See Appendix 1). any new information to respondents. Semi-structured interviews were
the main data collection approach, followed by observations, literature
4.2. Data collection review and secondary Internet data searches, which investigated a va
riety of data sources as secondary material for data validity, such as
Data collection was performed through interviews held in two pha company websites, books, literature, PowerPoint presentations, product
ses: first, an initial data collection, followed by an in-depth data manuals and catalogs, promotional videos, and informal conversations.
collection round. In the initial data collection, the research objectives Furthermore, some of the selected organizations already had a func
were introduced to selected organizations. During in-depth data tional basic business intelligence and analytics system when the study
collection, copious focused interviews addressing the research questions was conducted and were therefore in a position to understand the basics
and background information about industry, market, and firm specifics of Big Data and CI for generating strategic value. Interviews were carried
were conducted. Frequent discussions were held to articulate and debate out with three to four participants in each organization who were
core concepts and emerging theoretical frameworks. In total, 48 re familiar with business intelligence and analytical systems.
spondents from 21 companies were interviewed (12 members from each As the interviews unfolded, it was discovered that practices within
hierarchical level; the remaining ones are senior-level key professionals selected organizations were using basic business analytics methods and
in marketing intelligence, business intelligence, market research, prod were not implementing advanced Big Data methods in CI cycles. Are
uct development, business development, and strategy and planning from there any Big Data methods used during CI cycles? How are the methods
the organizations; see Appendix 1). Repeated semi-structured interviews practiced? These questions were the starting point for the grounded
with the same participants were conducted through on-site visits and theory study. It aimed to understand, first, how the CI process was viewed,
conversations in order to ensure both the reliability and the clarity of the how organizational intelligence functioned in organization, what were the
collected data. This diverse range of sources was designed to improve methods for distributing the CI intelligence, how they measured the effec
the likelihood of gaining a complete and accurate picture (Yin, 2008) as tiveness of CI, where and how the methods are incorporated, how Big Data
well as to provide textual accounts of debates and discussions and to methods are applied, etc. It was hoped that such an understanding would
strengthen confidence in the findings. Anonymity was ensured to all help the study to see how the norms and practices of CI vis-à-vis Big Data
informants, and the interview questions are included in Appendix 2. methods related to building intelligence in CI.
4.3. Initial Interviews 4.4. An open beginning and interview questions
In-depth interviews of 60 to 90 minutes were conducted and follow- The approach enabled the researchers to ask questions and collect
up visits were done. Interviews comprised 32 questions and were data on what happens if Big Data-based intelligence is built into the CI
divided into three sections: general demographic information, process and how people interact with such models and methods. Some of
5
the initial research questions were: CI, etc.). In the memos, selected codes were also compared to find
similarities and differences so that the researchers could add more in the
1 Is a formal CI process used in the organization? ongoing interviews or discard redundant ones. At the end of the analysis,
2 How is the “intelligence function” structured in your organization? a tentative model was developed on the CI process and Big Data
3 Does your organization use Big Data methods or models to generate approach. This was expressed in both diagrams and memos, and was
CI? How do you handle diverse unstructured data? built around an essential set of absorbed codes and the demonstrated
4 What are the methods currently used to present Big Data tools? relationships among them.
5 Does your organization make use of software related to Big Data tools
or any analytics software, and is there an awareness of machine 4.5.3. Ongoing data analysis
learning or artificial intelligence tools for CI activities? Although there was a detailed provisional model of the steps
6 Which potential threats or opportunities can be identified effectively implemented in the CI process, at this stage the research did not un
by the CI? derstand what Big Data methods were being used; new questions were
7 How is the CI implementation done in your organization? Do you added for the interviews to directly investigate evidence of intelligent
maintain a dossier or database for each competitor? methods in CI processes. Some of the further questions were:
8 What are the most important functional challenges impacting your
company’s competitive intelligence strategy? 1 How do you process unstructured competitor data? Are Big Data methods
applied in your CI process?
4.5. Theoretical sampling data analysis 2 How do you collect external data for CI? How do you process external
data for building Big Data models?
Grounded theory studies are characterized by theoretical sampling
(Pagell & Wu, 2009; Yin, 2008), as recommended for any case-study 4.5.4. Mapping theoretical memos and further refining the concept
research. This involves collecting further data in the light of categories After theoretical sampling, coding was begun theoretically. Flow
that emerge from earlier stages. charts were then drawn up, along with data flow diagrams and written
memos, providing a clear understanding of each concept that emerged
4.5.1. Coding and constant comparative method from the process. Research findings constituted a theoretical formula
Through coding, the research defined what was happening in the tion of the reality under investigation, rather than making it consist of a
data and began to contend with what it meant. In the initial coding set of numbers or a group of loosely related themes. In the following
phase, the research generated as many ideas as possible, inductively, section, we provide a comprehensive description of evidence received
from early data. In the focused coding phase, the work followed a from the selected organizations on Big Data practices, as well as
designated set of codes. After the first few interviews, a large amount of analytical approaches in corporate CI processes.
data was collected along with many initial codes. These codes included
explanations, and comments, and the viewpoints and opinions of very 5. Research Findings
senior managers, including business development managers, on the
basis of their experience and involvement with CI operations. Because A first major research finding was the indication of a rather
some of the senior officials knew about CI practices and functions in centralized, informal process as opposed to a clear formal structure for
general, they could relate to the departments responsible for CI pro CI. Various interviewed executives admitted that they did not have a
cesses; thus, the process of seeking evidence from them became focused. clear formal structure for CI but rather relied on a centralized informal
By comparing the information available and the codes generated against process. Some firms had not labeled CI as a formal process. Others
other codes, a clear differentiation in the category of “seeking focused equated it to market intelligence. Another important related finding
evidence” was attained (e.g., gathering information on CI methods, relates to building intelligence in the CI process. The interviewed ex
practices and the analytical techniques used, etc.) and the relationships ecutives felt that there were many apps to automate the social media
between codes were understood. Theoretical codes were produced based search process for data nuggets from competitors. Some firms gathered
on the constant analysis and comparison of the codes generated. Making information about competitors by asking their business colleagues while
sense of the evidence and building knowledge was then done based on networking or socializing, individually or as a group. Some believed in
the theoretical codes. The codes captured the processes of CI that senior asking their customers and clientele during social situations about
level officials follow, the methods for using CI effectively, and the job competitors’ services or products. The delving process is a critical input
roles involved. An inductive approach was used to generate substantive for building intelligence. However, owing to the current lack of appli
codes from the data so that subsequent collection of data at the next level cation of Big Data methods to align with the CI structure, there is no
would provide insightful codes for developing the theory. defined standardized architecture or framework on Big Data value in CI
processes.
4.5.2. Memos This first research finding appeared as a major theme in interviews.
During the entire study period, extensive flowchart-based conceptual For example, as participant 3 (age 57, gender male) described: “The risks
memos were written. After each interview, a memo was written and opportunities seem to be too obvious to require a formal system in place,
reflecting on what had been learnt from that particular session. A note you see, we are in the business and know the dynamics in real time. We know
was attached on participants’ experiences, views, and reactions. These our competitors and what they are up to, that is what we do all day when we
notes were also used to systematically question some of the following network. To set up a system for what is so obvious seems a little far-fetched.”
interviewees. After a few interviews had been carried out, comparisons In addition, another participant (age 47, gender female) stated: “I had a
were made among the memos. This ensured that the ongoing work did discussion with the CEO about implementing an integrated CI system using Big
not just build the code categories, but could further divide each category Data. I presented data about how US companies are leveraging CI to enhance
into many sections of subcategory. Through this, the diversity and dif performance. However, he felt it was an added expenditure, and the whole
ficulty of data were recognized, and homogeneous categories were bureaucratic setup would increase documentation load, so we are better off
controlled. Some conceptual memos were also written, based on the without a formal setup.”
initial and later, focused codes. These memos were then used to record A second major finding indicated the use of basic tools for queries, as
the experiences regarding the interpretation of codes (e.g., the re opposed to reliance on dedicated methods such as advanced machine
searchers’ thinking about how and when CI processes happen, how in learning. On one hand, the interviewed executives were aware of Big
telligence functions change in organizations, what methods influenced Data and their influence in businesses. However, some participants
6
clearly admitted they did not have currently Big Data tools for coming and competitors’ public relations information.
up with valuable insights. For example, participant 16 (age 39, gender A third research finding deals with the challenges faced by firms,
male) told us, “People talk about Hadoop, Hive, even Excel to capture Big including a lack of staff proficiency, insufficient understanding of the Big
Data. But we do not have a clear understanding as to which would be the most Data approach, trustworthiness of data, and lack of process or domain
suited tool for our firm. We are contemplating getting demos, so that we can skills. Another major challenge consisted of building models, since lots
choose the right kind of tool to capture data.” The selected organizations of fake information was available, both on- and offline. The major
used basic tools such, as Microsoft Excel, SAP, or SAS for queries and apprehension cited by these organizations was a lack among the present
reports. Most of the organizations considered in this study admitted to a CI staff of experience, awareness, and knowledge of such Big Data in CI.
paucity of efforts to use Big Data methods such as advanced machine The senior managers expressed trepidation towards developing, moni
learning, real time in-memory computing, and so on for building better toring, and implementing counterintelligence tactics and dashboards for
intelligence in CI. The findings showed that the selected firms did not better CI. Table 1 provides further detail and related results. These
maintain a real-time CI database or a diverse data warehouse. These findings were reflected across the interviews. First, participant 21 (age
organizations had, however, signed up for the newsletters and surveys of 44, gender female) stated: “We hired IIM graduates specially to gather CI
competitors; pieces of information were collected at trade shows and through Big Data. But they were not equipped with the right kind of analytic
through external domain expertise; but there was no Big Data tool approach, and we let them go, they were pretty expensive, yet the insights
available to integrate the information collected with information were not coming.” Second, another participant (age 58, gender male)
collected from regulatory agencies, industry cross-sector publications, observed: “How can you trust the internet? The quality of data is seriously
Table 1
Findings
CI METHODS USED PERCENTAGE RANK
Competitor analysis 58.8 1

Customer segmentation 52.9 2
SWOT analysis 47.1 3
Industry/5 forces 35.3 4
Financial analysis 29.4 5
Win/loss analysis 23.5 6
Benchmarking 17.6 7
Others 17.6 7
Scenario analysis 11.8 9
Data dissemination points Percentage Rank
Presentations/staff briefings 82.4 1

Printed alerts/reports 52.9 2
Newsletters 41.2 3
Company intranet 41.2 3
Central database 29.4 5
Potential threats/opportunities Percentage Rank
New customer/target audiences 76 1

New competitors 52.9 2
Customers’ DEMANDS 41 3
Industry Competitors 23 4
Potential suppliers 17 5
Staffing options Percentage
Project team in house/external 64

Project team/ employees 35
External consultants 5
SOURCES OF CI IN FIRMS PERCENTAGE RANK
Commercial databases 64.7 1

Industry experts 64.7 1
Customers 58.8 3
Publications (print/online) 52.9 4
Social media 17.6 5
Internal data 11.8 6
Company employees 5.9 7
Criteria for CI effectiveness Percentage Rank
New or increased revenue 35 1

New products or services deployed 34 2
Cost savings/avoidance 23 3
No measure used 20 4
ROI calculation 17 5
Big Data tools/Software tools used Percentage
Yes 64.7
No 11.8
Challenges in adopting Big Data applications in CI Percentage Rank
Developing, monitoring, and implementing counterintelligence tactics 52.9 1

Capturing the competitive information held by the firm’s employees 41.2 2
Developing an integrated competitive insights dashboard 29.4 3
7
questionable, and to make decisions based on such insights makes me skep analytical capabilities of firms along with their CI needs. Some organi
tical.” Third, another participant (age 46, gender female) stated, “we use zations may have extant analytical proficiency and skills, while some
basic Big Data like analytics, competitor analysis, SWOT, segmentation may not have. Similarly, some organizations may have a well-defined CI
analysis, 5 forces analysis; however, we have not used this in real time on structure, while others may not have a formal structure. Hence, the CI
larger data. We want to use advanced text mining, natural language pro requirements and the firm’s analytical capabilities can be different from
cessing, etc., which are all related to Big Data.” (See Appendix 2.) Table 1 organization to organization. Based on the findings and the process
provides more detail. model, Fig. 3 presents a conjectural approach to defining the analytical
Overall, the research findings provide a clear understanding that the capabilities requirements vis-à-vis the CI requirements of firms.
firms are yet to consider Big Data technologies in CI processes; these The four segments highlighted above serve as inputs and feedback
results have contributed to start building the process for Big Data in mechanisms for adopting Big Data methods in firms for better CI. The CI
organizational CI cycles. requirements and analytical needs defined above will give firms a
Building on the research findings, a process model is proposed below. perspective on their preparedness with respect to analyzing how their
This process model aligns with the three-dimensional value framework competitors are leveraging analytics and the opportunity to take
for Big Data provided by Brinch (2018). The process model (see Fig. 2) capability-building measures to bridge the gap, if any exists.
provides an extension to the discovery process for various activities in CI
cycles with respect to Big Data methods in CI cycles. 6. Discussion
Building on evidence from both the interview findings and the pro
cess model, a new conjectural theory is constructed to assess the formal Earlier studies have not explored the role of Big Data methods in
CI process and structure of intelligent functions in organizations. Based building effective CI in organizations. In this grounded-theory-based
on the findings, the theory outlines that it is necessary to analyze the study, we have provided a good basis for understanding how firms
Fig. 2. Process model.
8
Fig. 3. Analytical capabilities and CI needs in organizations.
could improve their respective CI mechanisms through Big Data in Some firms do also gather information about competitors by simply
sights. This study has explored the impact of Big Data methods in CI asking their business colleagues while networking or socializing, indi
processes, and how organizations can and do build CI. The research vidually or within groups. Firms also believe in asking their customers
findings have shown that companies are yet to adopt Big Data methods and clientele about competitors’ services or products during social sit
having the desired impact in terms of CI, and Big Data methods were not uations. The delving process is a critical input to the Big Data process to
used in CI intelligence processes even in large and well-established extract hidden, interesting business insights and may provide knowledge
companies. These results are theoretically important given the need to nuggets to help firms in understanding their own products. Being an
have a better understanding of the impact of Big Data methods in actual customer to a competitor would yield more hidden information.
building CI in organizations. Specifically, the results indicate that, while This may involve organizations signing up for newsletters, surveys, etc.
basic intelligence is acquired using MS Excel, SAP, or SAS for queries and Using trade shows or talking to internal and external domain experts
reports, surprisingly, no CI database was maintained on a real-time would also promote gathering additional CI information. This, again, is a
basis. These results imply that, for building intelligence based on past valuable source for Big Data models and organizations need to maintain
data, current data, and future data, organizations need to extend their a clear database of all such collected information so that Big Data ana
Big Data capability across all dimensions, and the study findings shed lytics can be applied for new product development or offering an
light on the benefits of adopting the framework for data consolidation, enhanced service. The timely addition of information related to regu
real-time intelligence, online tracking of competitors, and new insights latory agencies, industry cross-sector publications, and competitors’
into competitors’ territories that have never previously been explored. public relations information would be an additional benefit to CI in
To sum up, this study provides unique insights by investigating the sights. However, a complete ethical procedure needs to be followed.
mediating role of Big Data methods on organizational CI processes. During the interview process, many senior officials hinted at having
Our framework has implications for those business processes hired people from competing firms, the sales team in particular to obtain
involved in various CI operations; it would be impactful for organiza additional horizontal and vertical leads. Unfortunately, companies do
tions, Big Data communities, and managers who use data (both opera not maintain a clear database on whom they and the competitors are
tional and strategic). There exist lots of competitor information that hiring. With LinkedIn analytics, there is a strong opportunity to tap the
could be gathered into a corporate database for CI analysis. Paying CI through a different lens. All the senior executives interviewed agreed
attention to competitors’ advertisement zones may capture and that about 90% of the data in the world today was generated only in the
communicate a great deal about the particular audience that competi very recent past. Big Data methods help with the analysis, since they
tors are trying to target and what particular products or services they are translate millions of entries into valuable information through advanced
trying to promote. These data will be useful for organizations to intro analytical and mathematical algorithms and probability analyses.
spectively view their own campaigns and promotions. The trick consists Diverse data were also collected from the profiles of competitors,
of collecting more data on competitor promotions to identify weak product data, customers, new employees, and other sources such as
nesses by using basic Big Data methods directed at their marketing and corporate guidelines and policies.
find opportunities to crease new product or service segments. Regular The more organizations access competitor data, the more strategic
visits to competitor spaces, blogs, social media postings, and websites for advantage they gain. The principal outcome from CI is the capability to
finding the rich mines of CI information towards leveraging current make forward-looking decisions using Big Data. Organizations are
intelligence are needed. This enables firms to cross compare using an looking towards Big Data-fueled computing methods such as the IoT,
alytics and check their working in order to displaying more ideas. Big intelligent personal assistants, machine learning, artificial intelligence,
Data analytics in general and web and text mining play vital roles here. deep learning, smart robots, content analytics, neuro business models,
Competitors’ plans, their strategies, and their hiring and personnel etc. Such Big Data methods are going to reshape the way in which or
patterns could easily be analyzed. There are many apps for automating ganizations look at CI in the near future.
the social media search process to obtain data nuggets on competitors.
9
6.1. Theoretical implications by assimilating various facets of data sets, including both structured and
unstructured sources, and using advanced tools to extract insights as
Despite the fact that Big Data’s characteristics, namely volume, ve mentioned for instance by Janssen, van der Voort, and Wahyudi (2017).
locity, variety, and veracity, act to give important data-driven insights In addition, leaders and managers willing to build Big Data
and are critical for enhancing organizational competition (Ghasema Analytics-based Competitive Intelligence need to build and use Big Data
ghaei & Calic, 2020), and strong evidence of Big Data disrupting tactical personnel skills, based on Akhtar, Frynas, Mellahi, and Ullah’s (2019)
decision-making processes and impacting on strategic decisions within research findings which have shown that organizations utilizing Big
organizations (Merendino et al., 2018), many organizations neverthe Data personnel skills are more productive regarding business perfor
less do not successfully leverage business outcomes through Big Data mances. Overall, stakeholders should consider building a Big Data cul
(Johnson, Friend, & Lee, 2017), and our research findings have identi ture, and should be familiar with Dubey, Gunasekaran, Childe, Blome &
fied challenges faced by organizations in this matter, which sheds lights Papadopoulos’s (2019) study that provides insights regarding Big Data
on studies that have indicated that Big Data approaches may or may not culture.
improve business competition (LaValle, Lesser, Shockley, Hopkins, & Secondly, our findings clearly highlight the use of basic tools for
Kruschwitz, 2011; Merendino et al., 2018). queries as opposed to reliance on dedicated methods such as advanced
Despite the growing number of firms launching Big Data initiatives, machine learning, leaders and managers interested in building CI
there is still limited understanding on how firms translate the potential through Big Data approaches should consider it as a business project as
of such technologies into business value, as stated by Mikalef et al. opposed to an Information Technology project, which resonates with
(2019), who examined 175 strategic-level specialists regarding Big Data Sena, Demirbag, Bhaumik, and Sengupta (2017) research investigating
approaches and highlighted several challenges faced by organizations two case studies on the impact of Big Data technologies on organiza
when orchestrating Big Data analytics. In order to avoid such challenges, tional strategies which showed that some firms do not think of Big Data
recent studies have proposed approaches and sets of guidelines. Barch projects as business projects but rather as Information Technology (IT)
iesi and Colladon (2019), for example, proposed approaches combining ones.
text mining, social networks, and Big Data analytics for analyzing Thirdly, building on our findings which highlight some significant
stakeholders’ attitudes using twitter threads, and Müller et al. (2016) challenges that organizations are facing regarding the optimal use of big
discussed the use of Big Data analytics as a strategy in information data analytics in building organization Competitive Intelligence. The
systems (IS) research and proposed a set of guidelines. In the same stakeholders involved in Competitive Intelligence activities should
theoretical vein as those two studies, the findings of the present study acknowledge that collecting the “right” information about competitors
have expanded our understanding of the role of Big Data in building CI may be a challenge, and Big Data could resolve this challenge using tools
within organizations. such as text mining or deep learning, and NLP would bridge the gap of
The theoretical implications of our study include setting up a foun understanding reports, documents, and clickstreams of diverse vernac
dation, in terms of competitive intelligence, for Big Data and advanced ular competitor data, dealing with open-source frameworks (e.g.,
technologies, which is extremely important. Building high levels of trust Hadoop and MapReduce), and taking care of voluminous distributed
in CI is crucial in decision making given that the nature, type, quality, data. Moreover, stakeholders involved in Competitive Intelligence ac
and content of data are sensitive and vary over time. Also, given that tivities should keep in mind that Big Data approaches have encouraged
unstructured competitor data is very turbulent in the business envi organizations to restructure their Competitive Intelligence processes and
ronment, the CI matrix and framework can make a crucial strategic this has potential impacts for strategic decision making. Indeed, some
contribution to organizational success. Setting up business units to share studies suggest that organizational board meetings are trying to refrain
information on competitors, customers, social media networks, and from top-down planning and are willing to process larger digital data
governance for CI may be a challenging task. Nevertheless, our research sets to combine the companies’ real-time financial strategies with their
results have highlighted the relevance of Big Data characteristics for competencies for better intelligence (Camillus, 2008).
enhancing CI value. Our findings suggest that a conjectural theory is Finally, with a view to ease the process of developing Big Data
necessary to assess the formal CI process in organizations. This can serve Analytics-based competitive intelligence, all stakeholders should
as a valid guideline for organizations intending to maximize their CI consider our conceptual framework for using Big Data methods for a
value. It is also worth mentioning that generating larger data alone will competitive intelligence process as a starting point. In this regard, our
not push firms to build intelligence. Some firms may not have analytics study provides a context for developing Big Data frameworks and pro
and some may lack a formal CI process. In this regard, it is worth noting cess models for Competitive Intelligence in organizations.
that the number of organizations that are keen to invest in Big Data in
next few years has fallen by 6 percent (Van der Meulen & Woods, 2015). 7. Limitations and Future Research Directions
6.2. Managerial implications Several limitations need to be acknowledged in terms of theoretical

sampling and the associated emerging insights. First, the research
Over the recent years, more and more organizations have started to findings are restricted to the respective identified business sectors – that
capitalize on the significant use of Big Data and emerging technologies is, IT, consumer goods, and FinTech companies only. One future
to analyze - and gain valuable insights linked to - decision-making research direction could be a cross-business market analysis of CI
processes. Interestingly, our study has indicated that Big Data Ana regarding the adoption of Big Data. Second, McAfee and Brynjolfsson’s
lytics is currently far from been used at its full potential in the area of (2012) study emphasized the importance of Big Data applications for
Competitive Intelligence. Therefore, there is tremendous room for profits and increased productivity without investigating the intrinsic
improvement for those organizations willing to take advantage of value of each business report. The objective should be to understand CI
monitoring their respective competitors. Accordingly, with a view to in each business process and the appropriate Big Data approach for it,
build competitive advantage in such areas, all stakeholders involved in and this gap can provide a significant area for further research. Third,
competitive intelligence activities may take into consideration the not many company officials disclose their sensitive information
following managerial implications. regarding CI; in our study, it was difficult to convince officials to share CI
Firstly, our findings suggest a preference for a rather centralized information despite repeated visits. Future research studies could focus
informal process as opposed to a clear formal structure for Competitive on CI and identify intangible factors, such as social norms, socioeco
Intelligence, leaders and managers willing to build Big Data Analytics- nomic status, gender roles, ethnicity, religion, and culture and how they
based Competitive Intelligence need to practice Big Data approaches affect Big Data adoption in CI. Building on the findings of our study,
10
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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Information Management

Big Data Analytics in Building the Competitive Intelligence

1. Introduction to uncover new opportunities in organizations (Davenport, 2014).

3. Conceptual Framework 4.1. design and selection

4.3. Initial Interviews 4.4. An open beginning and interview questions

Competitor analysis 58.8 1

Data dissemination points Percentage Rank

Presentations/staff briefings 82.4 1

Potential threats/opportunities Percentage Rank

New customer/target audiences 76 1

Staffing options Percentage

Project team in house/external 64

SOURCES OF CI IN FIRMS PERCENTAGE RANK

Commercial databases 64.7 1

Criteria for CI effectiveness Percentage Rank

New or increased revenue 35 1

Big Data tools/Software tools used Percentage

Challenges in adopting Big Data applications in CI Percentage Rank

Developing, monitoring, and implementing counterintelligence tactics 52.9 1

Fig. 2. Process model.

Fig. 3. Analytical capabilities and CI needs in organizations.

6.2. Managerial implications Several limitations need to be acknowledged in terms of theoretical

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