Course detail

Competitive Intelligence

FP-IcinPAcad. year: 2025/2026

The course Competitive Intelligence provides students with the basic knowledge necessary to understand how to correctly and legally obtain the necessary information from a competitive environment, how to evaluate it well in order to add value to this information and thereby gain intelligence when this intelligence is a good basis for strategic decision making. of the top management of the company.
It represents a compendium of knowledge necessary to perform the function of Competitive Intelligence process manager or company managers in general at all levels of management.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Ing. František Bartes, CSc.

Department

Institute of Economics (ÚE)

Entry knowledge

Not applicable.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Credit: presentation of the assigned topic and handing in the term paper.

Exam: The exam can have either:                                              a) a written form. The student receives two questions for which he has a limited time to answer. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale.                                       b) form of test through e-learning. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale. Students will be informed about the form of the exam at the beginning of the semester.

Completion of the course for students with individual study:
Credit: elaboration of semester work, which will be sent to the lecturer.
Exam: The exam can have either:                                                 a) a written form. The student receives two questions for which he has a limited time to answer. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale.                                     b) form of test through e-learning. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale. Students will be informed about the form of the exam at the beginning of the semester

Completion of the course in distance form:
Credit: elaboration of semester work.
Exam: test through e-learning. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale.


Checking the results of independent work on assigned tasks.

Aims

The aim is to enable students to understand the issues of Competitive Intelligence processes needed to obtain information about the competitive environment and to provide students with the knowledge for their legal acquisition with their subsequent evaluation.
Furthermore, students must understand how to approach the issue of the quality of information needed to obtain background information for strategic decisions of top management, including identification and subsequent analysis of misinformation.
Knowledge
Knowledge of modern approaches and methods of legally obtaining information about a competing company, competitive environment, including the creation of added value necessary for intelligence. Basics of intelligence analysis of acquired information. Analysis of competitive hypotheses, check of key assumptions, time analysis, patent analysis. Software tools used in Competitive Intelligence. Basic forms of organization of the Competitive Intelligence process in a company. Knowing the most common causes of Competitive Intelligence failure.
Skills
Ability to correctly analyze the examined problem, propose a thought model of the problem, identify the information gap, perform intelligence analysis of the information obtained. To create a basis for strategic decision-making by predicting probable hypotheses. They will acquire basic approaches to the protection of business secrets of the company.
Competence
The listener will have competencies of the Competitive Intelligence Process Manager

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

BARTES, František. Konkurenční zpravodajství. Tvorba podkladů pro strategické rozhodování podniku. Praha: Grada, 2022. ISBN 978-80-271-3504-2. (CS)

Recommended reading

FULD, L, M., 1995: The New Competitor Intelligence. The Complete Resource for Finding, Analysing, and Using Information About Your Competitors. 1995. 482 p. ISBN 0-471-58508-4.
KAHANER, L., 1997: Competitive Intelligence. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 978-0-684-84404-6.
LIEBOWITZ, J. Strategic Intelligence. New York: Auerbach Publications, 2006. 223p. ISBN 978-0-8493-9868-1.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme MGR-IM Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. František Bartes, CSc.

Syllabus

Introduction, definition of Competitive Intelligence (CI), basic concepts.
Intelligence process Competitive Intelligence - disadvantages of the intelligence cycle, definition of the intelligence process and its advantages, basic intelligence process CI (steps 1 - 4).
Intelligence process Competitive Intelligence - CI CI (5 - 9 steps), five-phase reporting process
Method of Competitive Hypothesis Analysis (Step 1 - 4)
Method of Competitive Hypothesis Analysis (Step 5 - 8)
Selected methods Competitive Intelligence - Control of key assumptions
Selected methods of Competitive Intelligence - Time analysis, Patent analysis
Counter Competitive Intelligence (CCI) - business secrets of the company, information protection and confidentiality activities.
Counter Competitive Intelligence (CCI) - basic CCI intelligence process, five-phase CCI process.
Forms of Competitive Intelligence organization in a company. The most common causes of CI process failure, trends in CI development.

Exercise

13 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. František Bartes, CSc.

Syllabus

Ethics in Competitive Intelligence - codes of ethics, rule of harm, assignment of seminar paper
Modern concept of Competitive Intelligence
Analysis of competitive hypotheses - 1.part.
Analysis of competitive hypotheses - 2.part.
Control of key assumptions