Competition Is Killer

Libri, Vol. 61, pp. 175–189, September 2011 • Copyright © by Walter de Gruyter • Berlin • Boston. DOI 10.1515/libr.2011.015

Competitive is Killer

Ching Seng Yap and Md Zabid Abdul Rashid
Dr. Ching Seng Yap, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Email: [e-mail] Dr. Md Zabid Abdul Rashid, Professor, and President & Vice Chancellor, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Email: [e-mail] Abstract This study examines the level of competitive intelligence practices undertaken by Malaysian publiclisted companies, and the relationship between competitive intelligence and firm performance. Data was collected from 123 companies across various industry categories. The study finds that competitive intelligence has been practiced at an early stage and in a moderate level among Malaysian companies. The top three intelligence sectors rated by the sampled companies are customers, competitors and the economy. Competitive intelligence is mostly used in making strategic decisions regarding capacity expansion, new product development, and strategic alliance. Competitive intelligence practice relates positively to firm performance. Companies with a formal versus informal competitive intelligence unit achieve higher firm performance as measured by organizational growth and profitability. The article includes implications and recommendations for future studies. Introduction The business environment has become more turbulent and competitive because of advancement of information and communication technologies and globalization. Business organizations are pressured and challenged by these phenomena while striving for their business success or even their survival. Competitive Intelligence (CI) emerges as one of the measures for companies to face the competitive environments more effectively. CI is both a process and a product. As a process, CI is the set of legal and ethi-

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Editorial history: Paper received: 12 June 2010 Revised version received: 4 December 2010 Accepted: 8 December 2010 Copyright of Libri: International Journal of Libraries & Information Services is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder 's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.