Description
Chief of the Competitive intelligence, Innovation and IT department
Paris, November, 26, 2007
Philippe CLERC
Chief of the Competitive intelligence, Innovation and IT department
Assembly of the French Chambers of commerce and Industry (AFCCI)
President of the French Association for the Development of CI
For SCIC Review.
People have different ideas about competitive (business) intelligence. What is your
understanding of competitive (or business) intelligence ?
I understand competitive intelligence or business intelligence as the management of strategic
open source information through legal means in order to better strategize.
I understand it as a process and as a set of strategic management tools used for the
management of strategy through an information and knowledge intensive organization: a
strategic management tool that can enhance competitiveness and drive innovation.
From the 1990’s on, there is an interesting evolution toward a today reality: in advanced
countries as in emerging ones CI has become a strategic public policy used to develop
industrial competitiveness. After a first experience in 1995 France runs today a national CI
strategy, like in the United State.
Discussing CI with company leaders, my opinion is that competitive intelligence opens new
operational ways in order to face major challenges such as the information overload, changing
technologies and the increasing intensity level of competition on internal and international
markets. Why? Because it offers an essential process to interpret in real time the complex and
rapid evolution of the environment moves, for a better management of organizations and
strategies. The mastering of time access to information or to knowledge brings a competitive,
social or cultural advantages to a company, a Nation or a Province in their differentiation
strategy.
CI offers the capacity to catch early warning signals to anticipate manoeuvres during
negotiations. Then it allows the preparation of more efficient strategies to influence the
situation and the market (modification of competitive rules in favour of a company’s interests,
generation or application of standards…). It includes the techniques of prospective as well as
the techniques of influence. The Swedish or the French competitive intelligence school of
practice uses competitive intelligence tools and techniques to ease cooperation. Social
intelligence creates innovative perception of the environment dynamics and forces based on
cultural assets. In that sense, it eases understanding the specific strategic cultures and know-
how such as the Latin, Chinese, Asian, Anglo-Saxon one.
How about CI development in France and can you introduce one or more success cases
for CI application ?
If you happen to ear that France is in advance in this field, the information may be valid. But
as for me, the only privilege that this position awards us, French, is an ability to analyse our
mistakes and blind spots…. before others and to learn from them.
If you analyse CI development in France, you must consider the national CI system including
the level of practice of the companies and consultants’ communities, but also the
governmental strategy, including the role of Chambers of Commerce and industry in regions
as well as the action of local and regional authorities.
As for the companies and consultants’ community of practice the change is notable. Because
of the increasing intensity of competition and the complexity of national and international
business environment, CI is becoming a strategic business tool. Multinational companies that
cope with the risks and opportunities of globalization for years are well mastering CI
organization and techniques.
Concerning SMEs, I notice that the companies’ leaders are moving from an intuitive conduct
of CI actions towards the adoption of a more effective, integrated and systematic approaches
of CI. They are actively guided and supported by the daily policy of Chambers of commerce
and industry (CCI) and governmental authorities. CI practice by SMEs’ managers is a
governmental priority and since the 1990’s CCI systematically conduct CI support and
training programs for SMEs manager in each French Region
Concerning the governmental policy, it takes more than ten years to build a French CI
national strategy in order “to plan a new future” in a world becoming more and more
globalized. In the mid 1990’s France has elaborated his first formalised CI national strategy.
In 2003 the publication of a parliamentary White Book entitled « Competitive Intelligence,
competitiveness and social cohesion » generates a national mobilization of private and public
communities of CI practitioners. What was the international context? The world has become
multipolar. It is characterized by a confrontation between different forms of capitalism and by
the emergence of numerous competing nations (BRICs) that generates new threats and risks.
In that context, French and many European companies are loosing market and technology
positions. Globally France as other countries in Europe are exposed to a risk of strategic
dependency in many technological sectors. Then in such a context.CI becomes a priority to
strategize.
In 2004, the French Prime minister, M. Raffarin launched a new CI strategical public policy
and appointed a high ranking official in charge of coordinating the CI national strategy. Today
various policy instruments are available for action in order to protect and promote the national
economic and social interests, in particular to support enterprises (www.intelligence-
economique.gouv.fr):
- Foreign investment control concerning key technological assets and strategic sectors;
- Creation of a procedure for financing start-up in key sectors through dedicated
private investment funds.
- Policy of systematic dissemination of CI tools and methodologies for SMEs
managers: conception of a CI standard training course.
One of the main innovative aspect of this strategy is the so-called “CI local intelligence
policy”. The national CI strategy is decentralised in organization and governance in order to
help SMEs , strategic companies and sectors to better develop and compete.
I would like to illustrate this innovation by one example. How to develop a cluster on an
international scale through CI? The “Child universe” Cluster is based in the Loire Region in
the West part of France on a territory whose historical know-how and activity was textile
industry. The cluster has been developed as a project of the local Cholet CCI supported by
local economic development authorities and by companies. Its main objective is to use
creativity, innovation, research and expertise abilities specialized on children’ needs to
develop and boost new activities on the territory. The project managers have based their
strategy on binding innovation and CI or have used CI to better innovate. The cluster develops
industrial and service activities through the monitoring of child universe world market trends
with CI techniques. It is one of the best illustration of our renewal strategy outside the high
technology sectors.
What is your opinion on the significance of competitive (or business) intelligence for a
country in the globalization age and the role of government, especially for later comers
like China ?
CI is a strategic challenge for any advanced, emerged or emerging country. The United state
or France as we have seen it appears as pioneer countries that have build their power and
influence strategy on CI public policy. These policies are founded on collective strategies -
cooperation between governmental bodies and firms – in order to gain a national competitive
and cultural advantage.
Today more and more emerging countries use CI as the strategic way to compete and to find
access to development and technology.
In April 2007, in J akarta the Assembly of the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry
participated to the organization of a symposium on CI. The objective of Indonesian
Authorities was the following: “Driving Indonesia to become one of the 5 World Economic
Power in 2025 through CI”
1
. We have noticed the same major interest in Brasil, India but also
in Algeria or in Morocco.
Today the world we are living in enters in high speed cycles of changes (innovation,
information technologies, risks…). Competitive challenges and risks increase significantly
and make central the action of continuous monitoring of the competitive landscape in order
to remain competitive, that is to say the setting of a CI strategy shared between governmental
and companies actions. Four major new characteristics and transformation occur with the
information and knowledge society reality, what I prefer to call “the intelligence revolution”.
The first one is the key influence of actors (stakeholders) such as networks, States and non
State organizations (NGO), criminal organizations…) playing a growing role in the
management of the economic, cultural, social issues.
The second is illustrated by the emergence of new competitive organizations such as
territorial networking organisations composed of SMEs, CCI, national and regional
organizations, research centres, university experts, professional associations exchanging and
sharing information and intelligence to be more competitive on the world markets.
The third characteristic is the intensive use of information and knowledge by State or
enterprises as a competitive tool through strategies of influence versus coercive attitude. The
power is not anymore exclusively measured by the capacity of a Nation to mobilize army
forces or industry and services worldwide, but also by the capacity to “shape the world” with
ideas and culture: USA use law, training standards, as well as technology one to dominate
markets.
1
See www.CIWORLDWIDE.org
The fourth concerns economic security and information security systems that have become
essential issue of national CI strategies.
Do you have any suggestions to the Chinese government and Chinese companies ?
My experience is too small to give any advice to the Chinese government or to the Chinese
companies. What I can share with you is the result of my modest experience and of my daily
observations. First it appears essential to define the competitive intelligence strategy and to
make it support at the highest level of the company, the State, or the Province, then to
mobilize competitive intelligence capacities (monitoring, analysing, economic security,
influence) to serve individual and collective strategies (government, big companies and SMEs,
clusters, …) in the global competitive environment; third, to organize economic security for
the identification, promotion and protection of key assets (technological know-how, strategic
firms, R&D centres, universities…). At least, it is essential to have a promotion strategy of the
competitive and cultural assets of the country, of Provinces, or of companies in order to
compete and cooperate in a better position.
Considering the future of CI, I would like to pinpoint the following trends:
- the growing importance of collective practice of CI in clusters where information and
knowledge are shared between SMES, R&D laboratories, universities, big companies;
- the conviction that innovation depends on the ability of national industries to
implement a CI strategy ;
- the intensive use of collaborative tools and software tools for information retrieval and
analysis.
- CI becomes one of the main management tool for the modernization of State and
governmental organizations.
It is said that AFCCI has adopted a China strategy ? What are the main objectives?
What does it means for Chinese and for French enterprises?
Yes, the French Chambers of commerce and Industry Network and AFCCI have defined a
national strategy for China for the years to come. It consists in the identification of Chinese
growth sectors in order to better match French and Chinese business interests. This will be
conducted between French CCI and the French CCI in China (Beijing and Shanghai). The
second objective is to organize intensive actions of promotion of the Chinese market toward
high growth potential French companies.. At least, the strategy will consist in an effective
support to French companies to help them to prospect and do business in China through
training or identification of know how or market complementarities for exemple.
In all these phases, it is easy to understand the utility of CI and social intelligence for a better
and long term cooperation between Chinese and French enterprises based on an efficient
matching of their mutual interests.
doc_174767125.pdf
Chief of the Competitive intelligence, Innovation and IT department
Paris, November, 26, 2007
Philippe CLERC
Chief of the Competitive intelligence, Innovation and IT department
Assembly of the French Chambers of commerce and Industry (AFCCI)
President of the French Association for the Development of CI
For SCIC Review.
People have different ideas about competitive (business) intelligence. What is your
understanding of competitive (or business) intelligence ?
I understand competitive intelligence or business intelligence as the management of strategic
open source information through legal means in order to better strategize.
I understand it as a process and as a set of strategic management tools used for the
management of strategy through an information and knowledge intensive organization: a
strategic management tool that can enhance competitiveness and drive innovation.
From the 1990’s on, there is an interesting evolution toward a today reality: in advanced
countries as in emerging ones CI has become a strategic public policy used to develop
industrial competitiveness. After a first experience in 1995 France runs today a national CI
strategy, like in the United State.
Discussing CI with company leaders, my opinion is that competitive intelligence opens new
operational ways in order to face major challenges such as the information overload, changing
technologies and the increasing intensity level of competition on internal and international
markets. Why? Because it offers an essential process to interpret in real time the complex and
rapid evolution of the environment moves, for a better management of organizations and
strategies. The mastering of time access to information or to knowledge brings a competitive,
social or cultural advantages to a company, a Nation or a Province in their differentiation
strategy.
CI offers the capacity to catch early warning signals to anticipate manoeuvres during
negotiations. Then it allows the preparation of more efficient strategies to influence the
situation and the market (modification of competitive rules in favour of a company’s interests,
generation or application of standards…). It includes the techniques of prospective as well as
the techniques of influence. The Swedish or the French competitive intelligence school of
practice uses competitive intelligence tools and techniques to ease cooperation. Social
intelligence creates innovative perception of the environment dynamics and forces based on
cultural assets. In that sense, it eases understanding the specific strategic cultures and know-
how such as the Latin, Chinese, Asian, Anglo-Saxon one.
How about CI development in France and can you introduce one or more success cases
for CI application ?
If you happen to ear that France is in advance in this field, the information may be valid. But
as for me, the only privilege that this position awards us, French, is an ability to analyse our
mistakes and blind spots…. before others and to learn from them.
If you analyse CI development in France, you must consider the national CI system including
the level of practice of the companies and consultants’ communities, but also the
governmental strategy, including the role of Chambers of Commerce and industry in regions
as well as the action of local and regional authorities.
As for the companies and consultants’ community of practice the change is notable. Because
of the increasing intensity of competition and the complexity of national and international
business environment, CI is becoming a strategic business tool. Multinational companies that
cope with the risks and opportunities of globalization for years are well mastering CI
organization and techniques.
Concerning SMEs, I notice that the companies’ leaders are moving from an intuitive conduct
of CI actions towards the adoption of a more effective, integrated and systematic approaches
of CI. They are actively guided and supported by the daily policy of Chambers of commerce
and industry (CCI) and governmental authorities. CI practice by SMEs’ managers is a
governmental priority and since the 1990’s CCI systematically conduct CI support and
training programs for SMEs manager in each French Region
Concerning the governmental policy, it takes more than ten years to build a French CI
national strategy in order “to plan a new future” in a world becoming more and more
globalized. In the mid 1990’s France has elaborated his first formalised CI national strategy.
In 2003 the publication of a parliamentary White Book entitled « Competitive Intelligence,
competitiveness and social cohesion » generates a national mobilization of private and public
communities of CI practitioners. What was the international context? The world has become
multipolar. It is characterized by a confrontation between different forms of capitalism and by
the emergence of numerous competing nations (BRICs) that generates new threats and risks.
In that context, French and many European companies are loosing market and technology
positions. Globally France as other countries in Europe are exposed to a risk of strategic
dependency in many technological sectors. Then in such a context.CI becomes a priority to
strategize.
In 2004, the French Prime minister, M. Raffarin launched a new CI strategical public policy
and appointed a high ranking official in charge of coordinating the CI national strategy. Today
various policy instruments are available for action in order to protect and promote the national
economic and social interests, in particular to support enterprises (www.intelligence-
economique.gouv.fr):
- Foreign investment control concerning key technological assets and strategic sectors;
- Creation of a procedure for financing start-up in key sectors through dedicated
private investment funds.
- Policy of systematic dissemination of CI tools and methodologies for SMEs
managers: conception of a CI standard training course.
One of the main innovative aspect of this strategy is the so-called “CI local intelligence
policy”. The national CI strategy is decentralised in organization and governance in order to
help SMEs , strategic companies and sectors to better develop and compete.
I would like to illustrate this innovation by one example. How to develop a cluster on an
international scale through CI? The “Child universe” Cluster is based in the Loire Region in
the West part of France on a territory whose historical know-how and activity was textile
industry. The cluster has been developed as a project of the local Cholet CCI supported by
local economic development authorities and by companies. Its main objective is to use
creativity, innovation, research and expertise abilities specialized on children’ needs to
develop and boost new activities on the territory. The project managers have based their
strategy on binding innovation and CI or have used CI to better innovate. The cluster develops
industrial and service activities through the monitoring of child universe world market trends
with CI techniques. It is one of the best illustration of our renewal strategy outside the high
technology sectors.
What is your opinion on the significance of competitive (or business) intelligence for a
country in the globalization age and the role of government, especially for later comers
like China ?
CI is a strategic challenge for any advanced, emerged or emerging country. The United state
or France as we have seen it appears as pioneer countries that have build their power and
influence strategy on CI public policy. These policies are founded on collective strategies -
cooperation between governmental bodies and firms – in order to gain a national competitive
and cultural advantage.
Today more and more emerging countries use CI as the strategic way to compete and to find
access to development and technology.
In April 2007, in J akarta the Assembly of the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry
participated to the organization of a symposium on CI. The objective of Indonesian
Authorities was the following: “Driving Indonesia to become one of the 5 World Economic
Power in 2025 through CI”
1
. We have noticed the same major interest in Brasil, India but also
in Algeria or in Morocco.
Today the world we are living in enters in high speed cycles of changes (innovation,
information technologies, risks…). Competitive challenges and risks increase significantly
and make central the action of continuous monitoring of the competitive landscape in order
to remain competitive, that is to say the setting of a CI strategy shared between governmental
and companies actions. Four major new characteristics and transformation occur with the
information and knowledge society reality, what I prefer to call “the intelligence revolution”.
The first one is the key influence of actors (stakeholders) such as networks, States and non
State organizations (NGO), criminal organizations…) playing a growing role in the
management of the economic, cultural, social issues.
The second is illustrated by the emergence of new competitive organizations such as
territorial networking organisations composed of SMEs, CCI, national and regional
organizations, research centres, university experts, professional associations exchanging and
sharing information and intelligence to be more competitive on the world markets.
The third characteristic is the intensive use of information and knowledge by State or
enterprises as a competitive tool through strategies of influence versus coercive attitude. The
power is not anymore exclusively measured by the capacity of a Nation to mobilize army
forces or industry and services worldwide, but also by the capacity to “shape the world” with
ideas and culture: USA use law, training standards, as well as technology one to dominate
markets.
1
See www.CIWORLDWIDE.org
The fourth concerns economic security and information security systems that have become
essential issue of national CI strategies.
Do you have any suggestions to the Chinese government and Chinese companies ?
My experience is too small to give any advice to the Chinese government or to the Chinese
companies. What I can share with you is the result of my modest experience and of my daily
observations. First it appears essential to define the competitive intelligence strategy and to
make it support at the highest level of the company, the State, or the Province, then to
mobilize competitive intelligence capacities (monitoring, analysing, economic security,
influence) to serve individual and collective strategies (government, big companies and SMEs,
clusters, …) in the global competitive environment; third, to organize economic security for
the identification, promotion and protection of key assets (technological know-how, strategic
firms, R&D centres, universities…). At least, it is essential to have a promotion strategy of the
competitive and cultural assets of the country, of Provinces, or of companies in order to
compete and cooperate in a better position.
Considering the future of CI, I would like to pinpoint the following trends:
- the growing importance of collective practice of CI in clusters where information and
knowledge are shared between SMES, R&D laboratories, universities, big companies;
- the conviction that innovation depends on the ability of national industries to
implement a CI strategy ;
- the intensive use of collaborative tools and software tools for information retrieval and
analysis.
- CI becomes one of the main management tool for the modernization of State and
governmental organizations.
It is said that AFCCI has adopted a China strategy ? What are the main objectives?
What does it means for Chinese and for French enterprises?
Yes, the French Chambers of commerce and Industry Network and AFCCI have defined a
national strategy for China for the years to come. It consists in the identification of Chinese
growth sectors in order to better match French and Chinese business interests. This will be
conducted between French CCI and the French CCI in China (Beijing and Shanghai). The
second objective is to organize intensive actions of promotion of the Chinese market toward
high growth potential French companies.. At least, the strategy will consist in an effective
support to French companies to help them to prospect and do business in China through
training or identification of know how or market complementarities for exemple.
In all these phases, it is easy to understand the utility of CI and social intelligence for a better
and long term cooperation between Chinese and French enterprises based on an efficient
matching of their mutual interests.
doc_174767125.pdf