| The use of competitive intelligence in the strategic decision making process has grown in the United States during the past 10 years with the advent of increasingly competitive domestic markets and global competition.; The key elements of strategy formulation center around the corporation, the customer, and the competition. Marketing strategy seeks to maximize positive differentiation over the competition in meeting customer needs. The current research investigates the perceived usefulness of competitive intelligence in the strategic decision making process and seeks to determine the impact of strategic orientation of the firm in influencing the type and characteristics of competitive intelligence perceived to be useful by top marketing strategic decision makers.; The strategic orientations selected for focus in this research are those developed in Miles and Snow's 1978 strategic typology. Types of competitive intelligence (Ad Hoc, Continuous-Comprehensive, Continuous-Focused, and Project-Based) are identified. Perception of usefulness of Continuous-Comprehensive and Continuous-Focused types varies based on strategic orientation of the firm. This empirical evidence supports both the current research and propositions set forth in Miles and Snow's original work. For the practitioner, this suggests that selecting the type of competitive intelligence program should be influenced by the strategic orientation of the firm.; Four characteristics (technical adequacy, actionability, surprise level, and interaction with the intelligence unit) are tested to determine their impact on perceived usefulness of competitive intelligence. Technical adequacy and interaction are found to be predictive characteristics. For the practitioner, the results suggest the placement of the competitive intelligence unit close to the strategic decision maker. It also suggests that resources should concentrate on the content quality of the competitive intelligence.; The current research presents empirical results associated with a relatively new function in U.S. firms. The findings suggest several future research opportunities for this emerging issue. |
