2024/2025
Competitive Intelligence
Type:
Mago-Lego
Delivered by:
Department of Educational Programmes
When:
3 module
Open to:
students of all HSE University campuses
Instructors:
Jonathan Larry Calof
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Course Syllabus
Abstract
The course is delivered to master students of The National Research University Higher School of Economics. The course length is 114 academic hours in total of which 32 hours are class room hours for lectures and seminars and 82 hours are devoted to self-study. The course introduces concepts and approaches to competitive intelligence/market insight as well as anticipatory systems. The course provides a solid foundation of theoretical and practical competitive intelligence strategies and processes as a way to enable both strategic and tactical decisions including innovation, Research and Development new market selection, and more. Several examples of decisions assisted by competitive intelligence for private sector, government, and non-government organizations are provided that demonstrate how open source information can be harnessed to better understand the external environment.Pre-requisites: ∙ Basics of Micro & Macroeconomics ∙ Basics of Business Finance
Learning Objectives
- Training in using various market insight techniques for both corporate and government settings
- Development of an appreciation for the importance of competitive intelligence and related disciplines for strategic decision-making
- Training in early warning and profiling methodologies
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Skills in assessing different information types and designing information collection plans
- Understanding of the role of market insight (intelligence, foresight and analytics) for innovation
- Understanding the organizational (including structure. Processes and cultural) requirements for competitive intelligence
Course Contents
- Class 1. Introduction to CI/MIAssignment (to be emailed five days before our first class) Fill in the CIQ questionnaire and send it to jcalof@hse.ru and obondarenko@hse.ru. Also email us the answer to the following question: What do you think competitive intelligence is. HAND IN – EMAIL FIVE DAYS BEFORE THE START OF CLASS to jcalof@hse.ru and obondarenko@hse.ru
- Class 2. Information collection
- Classes 3 and 4. Designing CI/MI projectsAssignment: To be emailed to at jcalof@hse.ru and obondarenko@hse.ru one day before class 3. Based on our discussions in classes 1 and 2 and after doing the readings for today’s class - come up with an intelligence/insight idea– this will involve filling in a Form A from the intelligence exercise). Be as thorough as you can be on the form and do not worry about making mistakes as it is not being markets. Form A 1. Description of the insight topic including what insights the decision maker is trying to develop. 2. How forward looking do you have to be 3. The decision/action that would be taken with the insight 4. Hypothesis – If you had to guess know what you think your conclusions would be on #1 5. Who is the decision maker 6. For the decision that is being made (#3) how does the organization determine that the decision was successful (and I do not mean because they made it). How does the decision maker measure success, what is their desired outcome from the decision for which the form A is being developed.
- Classes 5 and 6. Analysis
- Class 7. Organizing for competitive intelligenceAssignment before the class. Add two new questions to the Calof CI evaluation questionnaire and send them to jcalof@hse.ru and obondarenko@hse.ru before noon the day of this class. Explain when you send it in what element of CI you are measuring and how you would evaluate the organizations answer to the question.
- Class 8. The future of CI within an anticipatory system and course wrap up
Assessment Elements
- ExamWritten exam (60 minutes multiple choice and open-ended questions exam).
- Project reports (learning/insight log)
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Competitive intelligence research : an investigation of trends in the literature. (2015). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.CAD9C914
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Calof, J. (2014). Evaluating the Impact and Value of Competitive Intelligence From The users Perspective - The Case of the National Research Council’s Technical Intelligence Unit. Journal of Intelligence Studies in Business, 4(3), 79–90. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=bsu&AN=116533255
- Calof, J., Mirabeau, L., & Richards, G. (2015). Towards an environmental awareness model integrating formal and informal mechanisms - Lessons learned from the Demise of Nortel. Journal of Intelligence Studies in Business, 5(1), 57–69. https://doi.org/10.37380/jisib.v5i1.112
- Jonathan, C., Gregory, R., & Jack, S. (2015). Foresight, Competitive Intelligence and Business Analytics — Tools for Making Industrial Programmes More Efficient. Форсайт, 9(1 (eng)).