Gaining advantage by ‘leaking’ information: Informal information trading

Frequently, managers exchange proprietary data and other types of information with colleagues in other, often rival, companies. Such trading can be of benefit to firms as long as specific rules are followed. Stephan Schrader has conducted an empirical study of informal information trading in the German and US steel industries which shows that managers tend to follow these rules. US managers, however, appear to be more efficient information traders than their German counterparts. Information trading in the oil-exploration industry is also described as an example of how firms can manage such processes.