THE VOLVING USE OF COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE AS A STRATEGIC BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TOOL: THE ZIMBABWEAN EXPERIENCE

Abstract

This study employed a descriptive survey design to explore the difficulties manufacturing companies in Zimbabwe encounter in the application and practice of competitive intelligence (CI). This was done with full knowledge that adopting and implementing competitive intelligence concepts is a voluntary process as it is not enshrined in law and therefore there are no legal penalties imposed on those companies which do not apply any one of its tenets .The manufacturing sector was chosen because it is one of the sectors which is heavily threatened by globalization and technological advances. The exposure of the Zimbabwean manufacturing companies to both domestic and foreign competition means that these companies have to adopt and apply business survival strategies which include among others implementation of CI to counter this threat. The primary objective of this research was to explore the application and practice of CI in Zimbabwe. A sample of 100 Chief Executive Officers was chosen from a population of 350 manufacturing companies who are members of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI). This sample was selected using stratified random sampling. Data was collected through the use of a self-administered questionnaire which was supplemented by the use of the structured and unstructured interview schedules. The data collection instruments used, were designed such that they were able to generate both qualitative and quantitative data. The major findings from the study were that lack of financial resources dedicated to CI activities and lack of expertise to conduct CI processes were major barriers faced by companies in the application and practice of CI. It was therefore recommended that in order to boost and build expertise in the field of CI major Business Schools in the country should consider introducing compulsory core courses on CI.