Volume 19, Issue 3, February 2017, Pages 519–525
Sara KHALIFAT1 and Firdaous GMIRA2
1 Department of Management, Faculty of Juridical, Economic and Social Sciences, University Hassan I, Morocco
2 Department of Management, Faculty of Juridical, Economic and Social Sciences, University Hassan I, Morocco
Original language: English
Copyright © 2017 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
In a dynamic and highly competitive environment, companies continuously encounter internal and external threats that may affect their business performance. To gain a competitive advantage, organizations should seek to turn these threats into opportunities. By introducing Competitive Intelligence (CI) as a process of gathering and protecting material and immaterial resources to influence the environment, companies can use its functions to anticipate, assess, and manage risk. This is especially recommended to small and medium sized business (SMEs) which are the most exposed to risk; however, risk management and CI functions are highly overlooked in the field on SMEs due to limited human and financial resources. Today, SMEs need to embed CI in risk management in order to respond timely to risk, reduce losses, and increase revenue. The objective of this study is to analyze the role of CI in risks identification, prevention and control, and develop a model suitable for SMEs that illustrates how these companies can anticipate risks and influence the environment through CI process.
Author Keywords: Competitive intelligence, Risk management, Small and medium sized business, Value creation, Performance, Moroccan SMEs.
Sara KHALIFAT1 and Firdaous GMIRA2
1 Department of Management, Faculty of Juridical, Economic and Social Sciences, University Hassan I, Morocco
2 Department of Management, Faculty of Juridical, Economic and Social Sciences, University Hassan I, Morocco
Original language: English
Copyright © 2017 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
In a dynamic and highly competitive environment, companies continuously encounter internal and external threats that may affect their business performance. To gain a competitive advantage, organizations should seek to turn these threats into opportunities. By introducing Competitive Intelligence (CI) as a process of gathering and protecting material and immaterial resources to influence the environment, companies can use its functions to anticipate, assess, and manage risk. This is especially recommended to small and medium sized business (SMEs) which are the most exposed to risk; however, risk management and CI functions are highly overlooked in the field on SMEs due to limited human and financial resources. Today, SMEs need to embed CI in risk management in order to respond timely to risk, reduce losses, and increase revenue. The objective of this study is to analyze the role of CI in risks identification, prevention and control, and develop a model suitable for SMEs that illustrates how these companies can anticipate risks and influence the environment through CI process.
Author Keywords: Competitive intelligence, Risk management, Small and medium sized business, Value creation, Performance, Moroccan SMEs.
How to Cite this Article
Sara KHALIFAT and Firdaous GMIRA, “Competitive intelligence in SMEs: turning risks into value,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 519–525, February 2017.
