Designing Competitive Intelligence Model based on Structural- Organizational Intelligence

According to theoretical foundation of strategic management, three perspectives have been detected to reach competitive advantage. Environmental perspective, organizational capability and resources perspective, and competitive intelligence perspective, which combines sights and analysis, of the two former perspectives. Regarding the globalization of world markets, extension of competition domain, comprehensiveness of information systems, and the significance of inter-corporation competencies, this study tends to develop theories concerning competitive intelligence and offers a comprehensive model of the components of competitive intelligence to achieve competitive advantage. The researches made previously have shown three types of intelligence: strategic-social intelligence, technological intelligence, and market intelligence to attain competitive advantage. However, there has been no study exploring competitive intelligence about structural-organizational intelligence. To access persistent competitive intelligence, informational infrastructures, flexible and efficient linkage, and placement of these features in one strategic framework are necessary. Therefore, this study is to fill this research gap, and proposes a comprehensive model of competitive intelligence for the purpose of reaching competitive advantage. For this reason, first we have explored research literature and similar models and identified a set of indexes for structuralorganizational intelligence. Second, with use of factor analysis technique, we have reconsidered and classified important indexes in three batches. Then, with the contribution of structural equation modeling technique, we have examined the Iranian Journal 8 of Trade Studies relationships of new element with existing intelligence trinity and the synergism intelligence quartet to gain competitive intelligence and competitive advantage, and we have determined with structural-organizational intelligence it will be possible to attain competitive intelligence, and competitive advantage will be more stable.