Thesis deals with the use of Competitive Intelligence methods for selected IT company. The main objective of this work is the use of competitive intelligence analysis within the company and the characteristics of the company's competitive environment. Another goal is to identify appropriate information sources to obtain information about the external business environment and tools for monitoring them. The theoretical part of this work comes from the professional literature and focuses on the characteristics of competitive intelligence, and the intelligence cycle, including a description of its phases. Furthermore is mentioned the categorization of information sources and described the tools for collecting and analyzing information on the Internet. Part of theoretical part is a chapter devoted to CI in small and medium-sized companies. The practical part of this thesis deals with designing a system of competitive intelligence for a particular company. The first part includes the evaluation of the current situation in the ICT sector. Next chapter contains useful information sources to track and monitor information. Part of the proposed solution is a proposal profile person responsible for the conduct of CI. Thesis contribution in general involves a practical demonstration of using the CI methods possibilities in small business. From the practical side is the benefit mainly evaluating various analyzes, the conclusions and recommendations drawn from them.

The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the use of Big Data for the methods and procedures of Competitive Intelligence. Among the goals of the work is a toolkit for small and large businesses which is supposed to support their work with the whole process of Big Data work. Another goal is to design an effective solution of processing Big Data to gain a competitive advantage in business. The theoretical part of the work processes available scientific literature in the Czech Republic and abroad as well as describes the current state of Competitive Intelligence, and Big Data as one of its possible sources. Subsequently, the work deals with the characteristics of Big Data, the differences from working with common data, the need for a thorough preparation and Big Data applicability for the methods of Competitive Intelligence. The practical part is focused on analysis of Big Data tools available in the market with regard to the whole process from data collection to the analysis report preparation and integration of the entire solution into an automated state. The outcome of this part is the Big Data software toolkit for small and large businesses based on their budget. The final part of the work is devoted to the classification of the most promising business areas, which can benefit from the use of Big Data the most in order to gain competitive advantages and proposes the most effective solution of working with Big Data. Among other benefits of this work are expansion of the range of resources for Competitive Intelligence and in-depth analysis of possibilities of Big Data usage, designed to help professionals make use of this hitherto untapped potential to improve market position, gain new customers and strengthen the existing user base.

This thesis deals with the possibilities of using methods of Competitive Intelligence in practice. The main objective of thesis is to design and realize system for collecting, analysis and distribution of data to end users at Crystal Glamour, Ins. To achieve this goal was set several sub - objectives. Analyze the company activities, find its strengths and weaknesses, identify opportunities and threats of company. Based on these data are identified goals of CI and information sources that cover the domain of interest. Then, using software applications from Tovek, spol. Ltd., the relevant articles are searched and analyzed, which are then distributed by the well-arranged report to individual users.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the organizational factors that contribute to effective emerging information technology intelligence processes and products. Emerging information technology is defined as a technology which is little commercialized and is currently adopted by not more than twenty percent of the companies within a given industry. By definition, information technology intelligence is a subdivision of competitive intelligence and business intelligence. I discovered evidence that the information technology intelligence process includes assessment of information technology intelligence needs of consumers, collection of data from internal and external sources, analysis of the collected data and distribution of the analyzed data to the consumers. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the existence of all the variables in the proposed research model. I found empirical evidence that the final technology intelligence product contributes to better decisions made by consumers, their better environmental scanning, and more funding to information technology departments in organizations from different industries and of different sizes.

In retail, the explosion of data sources and data has provided incentive to invest in information systems (IS), which enable leaders to understand the market and make timely decisions to improve performance. Given that users’ perceptions of IS affects their use of IS, understanding the factors influencing user acceptance is critical to acquiring an effective business intelligence system (BIS) for an organization. Grounded in the technology acceptance model theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and user acceptance of business intelligence systems (BIS) in retail organizations. A 9-question survey was used to collect data from end-users of BIS in strategic managerial positions from retail organizations in the eastern United States who reported using BIS within the past 5 years. A total of 106 complete survey responses were collected and analyzed using multiple linear regression and Pearson’s product-moment correlation. The results of the multiple linear regression indicated the model’s ability to predict user acceptance, F(2,103) = 21.903, p < .000, R2 = 0.298. In addition, PU was a statistically significant predictor of user acceptance (t = -3.947, p = .000), which decreased with time as shown by the results from Pearson’s product-moment correlation, r = -.540, n = 106, p < .01. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential for business leaders to leverage BIS in addressing the underlying causes of social and economic challenges in the communities they serve.

The diploma thesis deals with the issue of Competitive Intelligence, its development, typology, process and used information resources. The thesis focuses especially on the analysis of current trends and tools for competition research. The last part of the thesis deals with the use of Competitive Intelligence within the selected company.

This thesis is within the field of Competitive Intelligence. The thesis’s main purpose is to investigate how Swedish startups perceive Competitive Intelligence and how their perception influences how they are dealing with international competition in the domestic market. Even though Competitive Intelligence is not a new field, the existing literature over this topic is not very rich, especially regarding startups. In our work, through qualitative research based on eleven semi-structured interviews, with CEOs and founders of startups in Sweden, and a CEO of an Intelligence firm in Sweden, we argue that there are three approaches to Competitive Intelligence from Swedish startups. The competition-centric, the customer-centric and the market-centric approach. Furthermore, we propose that dealing with competition requires startups to establish an intelligence culture that involves everyone, as it enhances their alertness, contributes to the building of a competitive advantage, increases their sales efficiency and lastly using their “insidership” as it is proposed in the revised Uppsala Model, to gather information and deal with the competitors. Finally, from our findings we propose two new classifications in addition to Murphy’s five classifications of firms based on their engagement in Competitive Intelligence activities, “the Hesitant” and “The Arrogant”.

Today’s competitive market in the video game industry puts a lot of stress on companies to be ahead of competitors. The ability to predict the potential of a product gives companies an advantage over competitors on the market. Companies have therefore increased Competitive Intelligence (CI) departments in recent years and looked for ways to optimise forecasting capabilities. Researchers argue for the use of Machine Learning (ML) to forecast market potential of products, and have investigated varying methods of optimising the accuracy of models. Past studies have shown the existence of predictive value in online search traffic on Google. This study set out to investigate if Youtube search traffic holds similar predictive value. Results show that Youtube trends do have a degree of inherent predictive value, and the addition of the information enhances forecasting performance of ML models. However, the exact degree of the predictive value in Youtube trends is yet to be determined, as some evidence from testing implicated it to be strong while others weak.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:16:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2865.pdf: 5042731 bytes, checksum: 2986b96028169c805c030febb21079ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-23 / The Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a systematic and ethical process of collection, storage and information analysis so that Organizations can obtain the competitive advantage in their businesses. For the application of this process, the CI is represented in a cycle which contains the phases of identification of necessities; planning; collections; analysis; dissipation and evaluation. The information volume to be collected and analyzed, the urgency to obtain results and the complexity of the studies of the CI, all point to the importance of the use of computer tools that support this activity. This research proposes a methodology to identify a tool that would facilitate the activities of the CI collectors and analysts, especially in the information extraction of texts needed in the transition between the phases of collection and analyses. The exploratory descriptive research was the methodology used in this work, divided into two parts: the theoretical methodology and the experimental. The first was applied to identify potential collaborating tools for the complete CI cycle and to extract information between the phases of collection and analysis. The second, to select and validate a tool (software). The tool selected was the software Zotero, which acts as an administration of bibliographica and citations reference. To validate this tool, an experiment was elaborated which contained two simulations involving the collection and extraction of information with and without the use of such tool. Two CI teams particpated in the simulations: one from Manaus and the other from São Carlos, with a total of 6 collects and 1 analyst. As a result, it was possible to identify that the software Zotero supports collectors and analysts in realizing the activities in the phases of collection and analysis. / A Inteligência Competitiva (IC) é um processo sistemático e ético de coletar, armazenar e analisar informações para que as Organizações obtenham vantagem competitiva em seus negócios. Para a aplicação deste processo, a IC é representada por um ciclo contendo as fases de identificação das necessidades, planejamento, coleta, análise, disseminação e avaliação. O volume de informações a serem coletadas e analisadas, a urgência para obtenção dos resultados e a complexidade dos estudos de IC apontam para a importância do uso de ferramentas computacionais de apoio à atividade. Esta pesquisa propõe uma metodologia para identificar uma ferramenta que facilitasse as atividades de coletores e analistas de IC, especificamente na extração de informações de textos necessária na transição entre as fases de coleta e análise. A pesquisa exploratória descritiva foi a metodologia utilizada neste trabalho, dividida em duas partes: a metodologia teórica e a experimental. A primeira foi empregada para identificar potenciais ferramentas colaborativas para o ciclo completo de IC e para a extração de informação entre as fases da coleta e da análise. A segunda para selecionar e validar uma ferramenta (software). A ferramenta selecionada foi o software Zotero, que atua como gestor de referências bibliográficas e citações. Para validar a ferramenta foi elaborado um experimento contendo duas simulações envolvendo a coleta e extração de informação com e sem o uso da ferramenta. Participaram das simulações duas equipes de IC, uma de Manaus e outra de São Carlos, num total de 6 coletores e 1 analista. Como resultado foi possível identificar que o software Zotero apóia coletores e analistas nas atividades que realizaram nas fases da coleta e da análise.

Natural tension exists between decision-makers and intelligence professionals. The main problems involve control over the gathering, interpretation, presentation, and the use of intelligence products in the decision-making process. Competitive intelligence (CI) professionals are rarely in a management position, and few managers and decision-makers have the necessary understanding of the value of intelligence products and thus intelligence is often misused or discarded. This situation results in intelligence failures and inappropriate strategic decisions by management. The methodology for the study was to determine the perceptions of CI professionals with regard to the current state of affairs of the CI function in the private sector. The study was conducted among members (n=74) of the South African Association of Competitive Intelligence Professionals. An overview of the development of CI within the South African context was also done, and interviews with key personalities practising CI in South Africa were conducted. The results indicated that many issues and challenges still face the CI professional in the South African environment, such as control over intelligence and the way in which it is used. There is a worrying tendency of third parties gathering intelligence, resulting in a situation where plausible denial is possible. Management perception/ignorance of the capabilities of intelligence in the decision-making process still needs to be addressed. There is also a need for recognition among CI professionals with regard to standards and representation. The CI field is still almost exclusively a male-dominated industry, with high barriers of entry in terms of academic qualifications. The conclusions are that a greater understanding of the requirements and needs of decision-makers, with regard to intelligence products, should be created. Decision-makers also need to understand the limits of intelligence products, and that intelligence products can only be compiled from information that has been gathered in a legal and ethical way. CI professionals have the responsibility to develop an indigenous body of knowledge as a means of making CI an accepted business practice and an indispensable tool in management decision-making. / Dissertation (M (Security Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Political Sciences / unrestricted