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Competitive intelligence (CI) research can put your software company in a strong position to create licensing, packaging and pricing strategies that give you an advantage. But if done unethically, it becomes corporate espionage. As such, it could expose you to risks of legal, operational and reputational damage. Not only that, but you could also risk making poor decisions from inaccurate information.
What you'll learn:
- The distinction between ethical CI and corporate espionage
- The legal, operational, and reputational risks of unethical CI
- How to vet third-party CI providers for safe practices
- How to identify when you're being mystery shopped
- Real-world case studies and legal outcomes of unethical CI
- Six practical counterintelligence best practices for your team
Why you need to care about competitive intelligence.
Competitive intelligence (CI) research can put your software company in a strong position to create licensing, packaging and pricing strategies that give you an advantage. But if done unethically, it becomes corporate espionage. As such, it could expose you to risks of legal, operational and reputational damage. Not only that, but you could also risk making poor decisions from inaccurate information.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Why CI Matters in Software
2. The Fine Line Between Intelligence and Espionage
3. The Real-World Risks of Unethical CI
4. Defining Unethical Competitive Intelligence
5. The Risk/Reward Spectrum of CI Practices
6. Three Major Risks of Unethical CI
7. Ethics and Reputation in the Software Industry
8. Legal actions against companies that went too far
9. Is We Didn't Know A Valid Excuse?
10. Know Your Rights
11. Top Six Counterintelligence Best Practices
12. Telltale Signs You’re Being Mystery Shopped
13. Why Ethical CI Works Better
14. The Future of Competitive Intelligence In The Software Industry
On the flip side, many software executives are unprepared for unethical CI conducted on them.
On the flip side, many software executives are unprepared for unethical CI conducted on them. They don’t know their rights or what to do when something suspicious occurs. They're not taking the necessary proactive measures to protect their company’s trade secrets and other confidential and proprietary information. In this ebook, we hope to provide practical guidance on how to avoid becoming a perpetrator or victim of corporate espionage. We also want to address the danger these unethical practices pose for the software industry, where the risk of fraudulent behavior being elevated to the level of industry normalcy is growing. It is time to be clear and straightforward about what is right and what is wrong about competitive intelligence in the software industry. Here are the things you need to know and what you can do to keep your company on safe ground. One small step after another...until Most companies do not intentionally commit corporate espionage, at least not at first. They just take one small step away from the ethical shoreline, then another, which leads to another. At some point, glancing back, there’s the shocking realization of the distance between them and the shoreline. The rest of the business community, on shore looking out at them, is thinking, “How did they allow themselves to go so far?”
So, don’t take the first step.
Know your risk when conducting competitive intelligence
Software companies that conduct unethical CI, or engage a third-party that acts unethically, do their organizations more harm than good. For one thing, they’re likely to be on the receiving end of intensely combative, determined actions by the victimized competitor, as the information obtained unfairly is right at the heart of the company’s revenue model—how they deliver value and make money.
People get emotional about that. They feel a basic sense of fairness has been violated. This feeling can activate a defense mechanism that puts the opponent into fight mode. Among the many cases we’ve witnessed is one where a board member of an entrepreneurial company became so incensed, he personally funded the entire lawsuit. Be careful what you unleash.
What is unethical CI?
Unethical CI is the use of intelligence gathering methods that misrepresent who you are and the purpose of an interaction. For example, it would be unethical to call a salesperson at a competitor and try to get information about their volume discounting and net prices by pretending to be a prospective buyer. It would also be unethical to hire a former employee of a competitor and get them to violate their nondisclosure agreement by divulging proprietary and confidential information, as was recently publicized in a significant court case adjudicated in May of 2022
DRAWING THE LINE ON ETHICS: THE CI RISK/REWARD SPECTRUM.
Ethical Competitive Intelligence
Rewards
Deeper competitive insights, accurate and detailed information for decision making, reputational integrity, operational transparency and simplicity. A valuable, incrementally expanding organizational knowledge base.
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