Competitive Intelligence programmes for SMEs in France: evidence of changing attitudes

This paper reports on an empirical study of the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry Competitive Intelligence (CI) programmes. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with the directors of 15 CI programmes from four regions of France. The research questions focused on definitional issues, CI programme content, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) CI practices and innovative methods used to change attitudes towards CI. The interview transcriptions were sorted, analysed and classified in NVivo software. The findings show that tangible results have been achieved despite resistance from small businesses in regard to their Competitive Intelligence practices. The paper also identifies the public and private sector entities which were named as sources of advice for small businesses for their Competitive Intelligence needs. The SMEs were also classified by the application of a CI attitude typology. The insights elicited can help future initiatives by public/private partnerships in both CI programme design and implementation.

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