Competitive Intelligence as a tool of modern competitive analysis : review of the main methods and evaluation of the result

The article presents a brief review of competitive intelligence as an essential tool of competitive analysis today. The authors show that the variety of methods for processing and analyzing intelligence data is overwhelming. It is up to the analyst to decide which methods to use in every specific situation. There is, however, a dozen methods that could prove helpful for the confused analyst trying to sort through complex and miscellaneous data. The results of applying the methods enable companies to develop a well-considered business strategy that envisages a series of actions and approaches aimed at achieving advantage over competitors. When designing and executing its business development strategy that is based on full use of the results of competitive analysis, the company has to address the task of choosing an optimum path of development that would marry the aspirations of top managers, who seek to a hefty profit, with those of the owners, who like to keep the risks low. Methods of risk assessment that were developed for innovation investment projects could be used for that purpose, too, because a combination of innovation investment projects is the key tool of implementing the business development strategy of a company