30 
 

 
 
 

Comparative Study of Competitive 
Intelligence Practices between Two 

Retail Banks in Brazil and South Africa 
 

A.S.A. du Toit 
 

Department of Information Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa 
E-mail: adeline.dutoit@up.ac.za 

 
Received March 12, accepted 20 July 2013 

 
ABSTRACT: Using competitive intelligence (CI) can help developing countries to increase their 
competitiveness. This paper compares the CI activities between two retail banks in Brazil and South Africa. An 
e-mail survey in a sample of 2550 employees in a retail bank in Brazil and 847 employees in a retail bank in 
South Africa was carried out in which CI practices were measured. Respondents in both countries were not very 
effective to conduct effective CI analysis. Respondents from Brazil consider information on operational risks as 
the most important while for South African respondents the most important information was on changing 
regulatory requirements. Although there is a culture of competitiveness in both organizations, it is recommended 
that if they want to compete effectively in the global economy, they should create CI awareness by organizing 
CI training sessions for employees. 
 
KEYWORDS: Competitive intelligence, Brazil, South Africa, Banking sector 
 
Introduction 

With the increased volatility of the business 
environment, companies rely on early detection of 
environmental changes so that they may respond 
with appropriate counter measures. Since countries 
and companies require time to adapt to the 
changing environment they should have the ability 
to anticipate changes and imagine the consequences 
of alternative responses to those changes. 
Competitive intelligence (CI) is a strategic tool to 
facilitate the identification of potential 
opportunities and threats. Because CI improves 

decision-making, it helps a company to meet or 
exceed its objectives and business goals. According 
to Waheeduzzaman (2002: 13) the ultimate goal of 
competitiveness is to improve the standard of living 
or real income of the citizens of a country. Since 
companies actually compete in the global economy, 
many authors are of the opinion that when studying 
competitiveness, the focus should be on companies. 
The economic success of a country depends on its 
capacity to apply activities which create a 
competitive advantage, its ability to create an 

Available for free online at https://ojs.hh.se/ 

 

Journal of Intelligence Studies in Business 2 (2013) 30-39 

mailto:adeline.dutoit@up.ac.za
https://ojs.hh.se/


31 
 

environment of transformation and progress, and its 
capacity to innovate (Canongia, 2006: 58). CI has 
long been recognised as a strategic management 
tool that could enhance competitiveness. This 
perception of CI as a strategic tool is not exclusive 
to developed countries. CI is expected to play a key 
developmental role in developing countries as well. 
The need to enhance companies’ and by extension, 
countries’ competitiveness has grown rapidly. CI is 
essential, and will increasingly be a challenge in 
the years to come, especially for emerging 
economies (Canongia, 2006: 59). 
 
Problem Investigated 
 
Little research has been done on the application of 
CI in developing countries (Dou, n.d.; Dou, Dou & 
Manullang, 2005; Du Toit, 2003: 112) and the 
purpose of this paper is to compare the current 
situation with regard to CI processes between two 
retail banks in Brazil and South Africa. CI is 
always influenced by country-specific 
environmental factors and a questionnaire survey 
was conducted to compare CI activities in the two 
organisations. Research questions:  
 
• Why is CI important for organisations in 

developing countries? 
• What is the level of importance attached to CI 

in the two organisations? 
• What information on the external environment 

is important for the organisations to get a 
competitive advantage? 

• What CI techniques do the organisations use to 
analyse information? 

 
Competitive Intelligence  
 
De Pelsmacker, Muller, Viviers, Saayman, 
Cuyvers, and Jegers (2005: 606) stated that “CI is 
actionable recommendations arising from a 
systematic process involving planning, gathering, 
analysing and disseminating information on the 
external environment for opportunities, or 
developments that have the potential to affect a 
company’s or country’s competitive situation”. 
Calof and Skinner’s (1999: 24) view is closely 
related; they state that “at its most basic 
description, intelligence is analysed information”. 
CI is also defined as “the transformation of raw 
information regarding the competitive external 

environment into intelligence to support business 
decisions” (Hughes, 2005: 5). “Competitive 
intelligence focuses predominantly on qualitative 
research based on a well-developed process and 
relying also on a human source network” (Fouche, 
2006: 18). These definitions revealed CI to be a 
tool that transforms information into actionable 
intelligence that, if used in strategic decision-
making, could enhance an organisation’s 
competitiveness. For the purpose of this research, 
CI will be defined as an ongoing, systematic 
evaluation of the external environment for 
opportunities, threats and developments that could 
have an impact on the organisation and influence 
proactive decision-making. CI is the process of 
developing actionable foresight regarding 
competitive dynamics and non-market factors that 
can be used to enhance competitive advantage. CI 
is concerned with the techniques used to select and 
filter information from a variety of sources, to 
interpret and analyse it, to communicate it to the 
right people and to use it effectively (Xu, Liao, Li 
& Song, 2011:745). Competitive dynamics refers to 
the evolution of a company’s industry and the 
moves and countermoves of competitors, suppliers, 
customers, alliance partners and potential 
competitors (Shih, Liu. & Hsu, 2010:2885). 
Nonmarket factors such as government regulation, 
tariffs and the culture of a country impact 
competitive dynamics but are not suppliers of 
products or services to the industry (Prescot, 
1999:40). CI uses legally and ethically public 
sources to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a 
company’s competitors.  
 
CI in Developing Countries 
 
CI management is a well-established function in 
organisations in developed countries, because 
managers realise that if they do not monitor the 
actions and activities of their competitors, their 
strategic plans will fail. However, organisations in 
developing countries continue to be surprised by 
undesirable changes in the environment and it 
appears that the advances in managing intelligence 
are as yet largely unknown in these countries 
(Nasri, 2011:58). Kahaner (1996:61) states that CI 
has become the 'latest weapon in the world war of 
economics', in which many emerging economies 
view CI as a way to win economic wars against 
larger, more industrialised countries. By using their 
wits instead of weapons, these countries are able to 

 



32 
 

turn raw information into usable intelligence to 
further their economic status (Calof & Smith, 2010: 
38). According to Calof and Skinner (1999:30) a 
country will under-perform without an appropriate 
CI infrastructure and he quotes Prescott and 
Gibbons by stating that “the key question is not 
whether governments should play a role in a 
company’s CI efforts but what should be the 
purposes and methods used by government.” 
Countries such as France, Sweden, Japan and 
Canada have recognized the value of government 
and industry working jointly in the development of 
an intelligence culture (Calof & Skinner, 1999: 24). 
Hawkins (2004:42) and Nasri (2011:53) emphasise 
that companies in developing countries should use 
formal processes of collecting, analysing and 
disseminating intelligence to successfully compete 
in the global economy. 
 
The new paradigm in development economics is 
based on self-analysis, self-reliance and self-
renewal, which would seem to necessitate a 
development-orientated intelligence policy in a 
country. Currently most developing countries are 
weakly integrated with the global economy. For 
organisations to compete globally they are facing 
many challenges since consumers use the Internet 
to compare products and prices and they need to 
stay ahead of their competitors (Huggins, 
2010:640). If this situation is to change, major 
infrastructural investment in information systems 
and services, as well as technical training, is 
required. Utilising CI will enable organisations in 
developing countries to gain a greater market share 
and to compete successfully against international 
competitors (Pellissier & Kruger, 2011). 
 
CI in Brazil 

The focus of this paper is the comparison between 
CI practices of a Brazilian and a South African 
retail bank. Substantial political changes in Brazil 
since 1990 have led to greater information 
exchange and the Brazilian society has been 
evolving into a knowledge society dealing with 
political changes, globalisation, new technologies, 
hyper competition and new global competitors, 
such as China (Davis, 2007:1). Brazil is among the 
world’s fastest-growing economies and the 9th 
largest economy in the world (Datamonitor, 2012). 
Like South Africa is seen as the gateway to Africa, 
Brazil is the gateway to South America (Libis, 

2005:237). Brazil offers limited infrastructure to 
businesses and has limited energy resources but the 
government is trying to establish a positive 
business environment that stimulates business 
growth (Libis, 2005:239). Prior to 1995 the 
oppressive government was a barrier to information 
sharing among businesses and Brazil does not have 
a CI culture (Libis, 2005:241) but CI plays an 
increasing important role in Brazil. Large firms and 
international companies with head offices outside 
Brazil apply CI practices. A country’s environment 
supports or threatens economic growth through its 
policies. A country like Brazil manages its 
competitive environment by relying on assets (land, 
people and natural resources) but is not necessarily 
competitive (Garelli, 2003). The Brazilian 
government and Brazilian companies have realised 
competing in a global economy requires a strong 
vision of what exists outside the country’s borders. 
As a result, CI is becoming more accepted both as a 
profession and as an important business function. 
CI was introduced in Brazil in the mid 1990s as an 
initiative of the National Institute of Technology. A 
CI interest group, the Competitive Intelligence 
Society of Brazil (ABRAIC) was established and is 
sponsored by the government and industry. The 
growing market for CI created the development of 
consulting activities. Various CI tools were 
developed (for example a national database of 
science competencies) (Dou). 
 
CI in South Africa 
 
The business environment is highly complex in 
South Africa because of factors such as the 
country’s unique history, diversity, geography, 
political and institutional landscape. Companies 
tend to be less dynamic and more resistant to 
change, compared to companies in developed 
countries. South Africa faces new socioeconomic 
challenges and research capacity needs to be 
developed in the context of the global economy. 
Before 1994 South Africa was isolated from the 
rest of the world as a result of the apartheid regime 
and this inhibited competitiveness (Viviers & 
Muller, 2004: 54). The use of CI before 1994 has 
mostly negative connotations since South African 
intelligence activities were mostly pursued by state 
institutions. Within a short period of time after the 
democratic elections in South Africa in April 1994, 
the international market opened up. Many 
industries were deregulated and privatised and 

 



33 
 

there was a large construction boom due to the 
2010 Soccer World Cup. To survive many South 
African companies needed to extensively globalise 
their business activities to exploit country 
differences and worldwide markets. This prompted 
companies to become more sensitive to external 
environments which includes monitoring 
political/legal, economic, technological, socio-
cultural and industry forces such as competitors, 
customers and suppliers. Currently South Africa as 
a net exporter of strategic minerals and the 
‘gateway’ to Africa has an internal environment 
ideally suited to the use of CI by companies to gain 
the competitive edge in a developing domestic 
economy and a challenging external environment. 
CI is therefore enjoying increased prominence in 
South Africa. 
 
South Africa’s lack of global competitiveness, 
according to various competitiveness indices 
(Blanke, 2007; IMD, 2012: 704), has over the past 
few years become a contentious issue with the main 
focus on the inability of the country to escape its 
competitiveness trap. Competitiveness concerns 
factors such as skills, higher education and training, 
efficient markets, the ability to harness the benefits 
of existing technologies and business sophistication 
(Blanke, 2007). One of the most prominent indices 
include the IMD’s (IMD, 2012:713) World 
Competitiveness Yearbook, which analyses and 
ranks the ability of nations to create and maintain 
an environment that sustains the competitiveness of 
enterprises. Countries that consistently rank high in 
these indices are the US, Switzerland, Denmark, 
Sweden, Germany, Finland and Singapore (Blanke, 
2007). 
 
Common denominators of these leading countries 
are quality education and high spending on 
research and development (Blanke, 2007). In 
contrast to leading competitors, South Africa not 
only fails to improve its competitive position but its 
competitiveness is actually deteriorating. Although 
CI is a relatively new concept in South Africa, the 
competitive environment of South African 
companies is vast, competitors are numerous and 
technological advances staggering. With the 
recognition that competitive challenges and risks 
will increase significantly in the future, there is an 
increasing need to monitor the competitive 
landscape continuously to remain competitive. 
Most companies recognise the need to improve the 

quality and integration of their CI, but may seem 
unsure of how to adopt more effective, integrated 
and systematic approaches to CI. Multinational 
companies in South Africa face unique challenges 
as far as CI are concerned (Viviers, Muller & Du 
Toit, 2005:246). Many multinational corporations 
have their African head offices in South Africa and 
have to provide strategic level intelligence to their 
boards of directors concerning their African 
operations (Odendaal, 2004:48). Research by 
Viviers, Saayman, Calof and Muller (2002:30) 
found that the largest companies in South Africa 
have adopted CI in a comprehensive manner, 
including designing and setting up structures and 
appointing a dedicated CI staff. These are, 
however, few and limited to the largest companies 
in South Africa or local subsidiaries of 
multinationals based elsewhere. Research by Du 
Toit (2003:118) found that only 26% of 
manufacturing organisations have CI units, but that 
76% of the organisations have a CI system. An 
interesting observation about the CI practices of 
South African companies is that the more 
companies rely on exports and interaction with the 
international market, the more they are inclined to 
adopt CI and the greater their understanding of the 
role and benefits of CI as a strategic business tool 
(Viviers & Muller, 2004). 
 
Empirical Survey of CI Practices 
 
Research methodology 
 
In spite of an increasing interest in CI in both 
countries, the state of CI in Brazil and South Africa 
remains fragmented for decision makers who need 
reliable information to deploy innovative policies 
for economic development. The banking market in 
Brazil is dynamic and competitive despite 
involvement of the state with foreign banks gaining 
more presence. Modernisation of the financial 
system in 1988 has led to the creation of 
multipurpose banks and foreign participation in the 
commercial banking system (Datamonitor, 2012). 
Brazil has the largest financial system in South 
America and the banking industry is diversified and 
competitive. The 200 public and private 
commercial banks have adopted international best 
practices (Datamonitor, 2012). The top ten retail 
banks in Brazil are ABN AMRO, Banco do Brasil, 
Bradesco, HSBC, Itaú CEF, Safra, Santander, 

 



34 
 

Unibanco and Votorantim (Datamonitor, 2012). 
Since 1990 the South African banking industry has 
gone through substantial changes. New bank 
legislation has been introduced and foreign banks 
have entered the domestic market (Heppes & Du 
Toit, 2009: 60). South African retail banks operate 
in a very dynamic and complex competitive 
environment and the five major banking groups 
(ABSA, FirstRand, Investec, Nedbank and 
Standard) control 89.4 per cent of total banking 
assets in South Africa. About 200 public and 
private commercial banks have adopted 
international best practices (Datamonitor, 2012).  
 
The question is to what extent these differences in 
economic structure in general and banking 
activities in particular will have an impact on CI 
practices in retail bank activities in Brazil and 
South Africa. The purpose of the empirical survey 
was to investigate the current situation with regard 
to CI practices in a retail bank in Brazil and a retail 
bank in South Africa. The research question guided 
the design of the research in terms of what data 
were needed to answer the question, where the data 
were, how data were to be collected and how they 
were to be analysed. The study follows a 
quantitative research methodology. Employees in 
the two retail banks were asked about their 
practices of competitive intelligence. The 
measuring instrument was a questionnaire which 
was compiled which was compiled to cover the 
theoretical constructs of competitive intelligence. 
The questionnaire was divided into three sections. 
Section A focused on biographical data, Section B 
on the competitive environment and Section C on 
CI practices. The questionnaire used in this study is 
based on three questionnaires used in other 
empirical CI surveys (Heppes & Du Toit (2009: 48-
66), Pellissier and Kruger (2011) and Du Toit and 
Strauss (2010: 17-32)). 
 
Of the sample frame of 110 000 employees in 
Brazil and 31 000 employees in South Africa a 
total of 2550 employees in Brazil and 847 
employees in South Africa were randomly drawn 
by computer from the two retail bank’s employee 
databases to form the sample of this study. The 
questionnaire was e-mailed to the whole sample 
with a cover letter explaining the purpose of the 
research and its legitimacy. The data collection 
took place over a period of two months and during 
this period, several reminders were sent to the 

participants on a weekly basis. Of the sample of 
2550 employees in Brazil, 615 employees (24.1%) 
returned completed questionnaires and of the 
sample of 847 employees in South Africa, 346 
respondents (40.85%) returned completed 
questionnaires. The credibility of the research was 
measured by the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient and 
an overall coefficient of 78, 5 per cent was 
calculated for the results obtained. This is 
considered to be in the range of scores considered 
as being reliable. 
 
Findings 
 
Biographical data 
 
In Brazil the gender of the respondents was mostly 
female (54%) while in South Africa the majority of 
the respondents were male (69.5%). The length of 
employment differs between the two countries 
since the majority of the respondents in Brazil 
(58%) have been employed by their current 
employer ten years or more while .the majority of 
the respondents in South Africa (47.5%) have 
worked for their current employer for less than five 
years. In Brazil 61.1% (376) of the respondents 
were on top management level with 38.9% (239) 
on middle management level while in South Africa 
68.8% (238) of the respondents were on top 
management level with 31.2% (108) on middle 
management level. This implies that more concern 
for CI in the South African organisation lies with 
top management. 
 
Strategy to manage competitive 
environment 
 
In trying to establish whether there was a strategy 
in place to manage the competitive environment, 
94,1% (579) of the respondents in Brazil and 89% 
(308) of the respondents in South Africa answered 
in the affirmative. It is interesting to note that 64% 
(394) of respondents in Brazil and 70% (242) of 
respondents in South Africa indicated that CI was 
always a key-component of company strategy and 
is used as input to the organisation’s annual 
strategic plan. This means that both organisations 
are competitor oriented and understand the 
significance of having a strategy in place to deal 
with competition. Such a strategy may encourage 
innovation and alliance with customers, which 

 



35 
 

would lead to a competitive advantage. Prescot 
(1999: 50) and Calof and Smith (2010: 37) concur 
with the above and affirms that having a strategy in 
place would have a positive impact on the strategic 
direction of an organisation. 
 
Competitive situation 

According to Table 1 both organisations appear to 
be in control of changes in the business 
environment with respondents in Brazil coping 
slightly better with changes. 
 
 

 
Table 1. Coping with changes in business environment 

 Brazil South Africa 
 Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage 

Above average (i.e. they cope very well 299 48.6 143 41.2 
Average (i.e. they cope) 316 51.4 203 58.8 
Total 616 100 346 100 

 
This correlates with Kahaner (1996:93) who stated 
that organisations that are alert of changes in the 
environment will be least surprised and negatively 
affected when there are changes in their business 
environment. In assessing the perceived level of 
competition 64% (394) of the respondents in Brazil 
and 59.8% (207) of the respondents in South Africa 
are of the opinion that it is very intense while 36% 
(221) of the respondents in Brazil and 40.2% (139) 
of the respondents in South  
 
 
 
 

 
Africa believe that competition is intense. None of 
the respondents claimed that competition is not 
intense. 
 
Information needs 
 
Respondents were requested to indicate the 
frequency in which they require information on key 
elements of the competitive environment in which 
banks operate (see Table 2). The actual number of 
responses is shown in brackets below the 
percentage value. 

 
Table 2. Information needs 

 Brazil South Africa 
 Daily Weekly Monthly Never Daily Weekly Monthly Never 

Changing 
accounting/tax 
requirements 

8% 
(49) 

58% 
(356) 

17% 
(105) 

17% 
(105) 

6% 
(21) 

26 % 
(90) 

44% 
(152) 

2 4% 
(83) 

Changing 
legal/regulatory 
requirements 

2% 
(12) 

18% 
(111) 

45% 
(277) 

3 5% 
(216) 

9% 
(31) 

34% 
(118) 

57% 
(197) 

0 % 
(0) 

Local competitors 25% 
(154) 

58% 
(356) 

17% 
(105) 

0 % 
(0) 

3 1% 
(107) 

42 % 
(145) 

27% 
(94) 

0% 
(0) 

Foreign 
competitors 

17% 
(105) 

33% 
(203) 

50% 
(307) 

0% 
(0) 

21% 
(73) 

35% 
(121) 

44% 
(152) 

0% 
(0) 

Interest rates 33% 
(203) 

8% 
(49) 

59% 
(363) 

0% 
(0) 

32% 
(111) 

25% 
(87) 

43% 
(148) 

0% 
(0) 

Inflation 17% 
(105) 

0% 
(0) 

83% 
(510) 

0% 
(0) 

10% 
(35) 

14% 
(48) 

76% 
(263) 

0% 
(0) 

Technological 
innovation 

17% 
(105) 

25% 
(154) 

50% 
(307) 

8% 
(49) 

8% 
(28) 

17% 
(59) 

72% 
(249) 

3% 
(10) 

Leadership 
development 

8% 
(49) 

0% 
(0) 

33% 
(203) 

59% 
(363) 

3% 
(10) 

19% 
(66) 

57% 
(197) 

21% 
(73) 

 



36 
 

Skills availability 8% 
(49) 

17% 
(105) 

75% 
(461) 

0% 
(0) 

12% 
(42) 

24% 
(83) 

64% 
(221) 

0% 
(0) 

Operational risks 
e.g. industry fraud 

28% 
(172) 

31% 
(191) 

41% 
(252) 

0% 
(0) 

5% 
(17) 

7% 
(24) 

73% 
(253) 

15% 
(52) 

 
On average respondents in both countries required 
updates to all listed classes of information on a 
monthly basis. Information types for which updates 
were required less frequently were those with a 
longer term implications for the organisation, while 
those information types for which updates were 
required more frequently were those which require 
response from the organisation as/when they occur. 
The South African bank requires information on 
changing regulatory requirements more frequently 
than their Brazilian colleagues while information 
on operational risks is required more frequently in 
Brazil. This supports the finding by Pellissier and 
Kruger (2011) that South African organisations are 
cognisant of new government information 
legislation that impacts their organisation. 
Information on skills development is important for 
both organisations. 
 
CI analytical techniques used 
 

A set of five questions sought to establish the 
techniques used to analyse information by the two 
organisations. According to Figure 1 the three most 
popular techniques used by the respondents are 
SWOT analysis, competitor analysis and industry 
analysis. Surprisingly best practices and scenario 
analysis are seldom used. A SWOT analysis is an 
important technique for both organisations since it 
may provide a comparison between the 
organisation and their competitors. Overall, there 
appears to be a lack of the used of sophisticated 
techniques such as scenario analysis and best 
practices by both organisations. The Brazilian 
organisation mostly used SWOT analysis while the 
most popular technique used by the South African 
organisation is industry analysis. This correlates 
with the finding by Viviers et al. (2002:36) that 
South African organisations spend too much time 
collecting information and too little time on adding 
value to information by analysing it. 

 

 
Figure 1. CI analysis techniques used 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 



37 
 

Conclusion and Recommendations 
 

 

Using data from a CI survey sent to a retail bank in 
Brazil and a retail bank in South Africa the author 
has tried to establish whether there are significant 
differences between CI activities in retail banks in 
these two countries. To a certain extent the CI 
practices of the Brazilian and South African retail 
banks are highly comparable. Both organisations 
are competitor oriented and understand the 
significance of having a strategy in place to deal 
with competition while both seldom use 
sophisticated analysis techniques to analyse the 
information. Within both retail banks there are 
definite elements of CI and therefore the proposal 
is to develop the existing capabilities further in 
accordance with best practices. However, there are 
some remarkable and significant differences. The 
length of employment differs and more respondents 
in South Africa are on top management level. 
Respondents in the bank in Brazil cope slightly 
better with changes in the external environment. 
Information on the changing regulatory 
environment is more important for the South 
African organisation with information on 
operational risks more important for the Brazilian 
organisation. 
 
An obvious limitation of the study is that it utilised 
a sample of employees in one company in Brazil 
and one company in South Africa. The findings 
therefore cannot be generalised beyond the sample 
that took part in the survey. More comprehensive 
research is still needed to clarify all the underlying 
dimensions of CI to enhance understanding of these 
issues. This is an exploratory study aimed at 
determining the application of competitive 
intelligence in two retail banks in Brazil and South 
Africa. These limitations leave scope for further 
empirical research. 
 
As Brazil and South Africa become more 
integrated into the global economy it stands to 
reason that the global economy will have more of 
an impact on the countries’ economy. To this end it 
has become more crucial to monitor global events 
and trends and it is very important for both 
organisations to develop an integrated CI culture. 
CI analyses not just the environment but 
competitors and markets as well. Therefore 
understanding the direction that competitors are 
moving to in the future is key to be able to 

counteract them timeously for both organisations. 
Keeping abreast of domestic and international 
market trends and their potential impact on the 
organisation is vital. Trend tracking needs to 
monitor the impact of not only product changes but 
also organisational changes such as future mergers 
and dissolutions. It is also recommended that both 
organisations should enhance a CI culture by 
creating CI awareness among employees and 
provide CI training sessions for new employees. 

It is concluded that the purpose of CI is to 
collect information about competitors to provide 
benchmarks, avoid surprises and identify 
opportunities. The case for CI to play a role in 
developing countries is strong, but not much 
literature is available on the application of CI in 
these countries. As discussed in this article, the two 
retail banks in Brazil and South Africa are already 
carrying out CI practices and the importance as 
well as the recognition of CI as a strategic 
instrument will inevitably increase in these two 
countries in the coming decade. In the light of the 
importance of CI in developing countries the hope 
is expressed that companies in Brazil and South 
Africa will realise that CI is not only a system to 
improve the decision making in companies and 
regions but that it is an important lever to facilitate 
the industrial development and innovation in 
developing countries. 
 
In both organisations the opportunity exists to take 
the current CI capabilities from predominantly 
defensive (avoiding surprises) and passive 
intelligence (benchmarking) to offensive 
intelligence with a primary goal of identifying 
opportunities. Areas for future research in both 
organisations should focus on a stakeholder 
analysis to determine the key intelligence users. 
Critical success factors for CI need to be identified. 
This includes issues such as senior management 
involvement, a focus on what is important to the 
organisations, the maintenance of ethical standards 
and the development of expertise in analysis and 
communication. 
 
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