Competitive Intelligence Policies, Ethics and Data Collection

Navigating The Gray Zone

Publication Date	November 2008
Publisher	Best Practices
Product Type	Report
Pages	55
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	BPC00054

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Summary

in today's fast-changing, high-pressure marketplace, the Competitive Intelligence (CI) function helps companies anticipate external threats and opportunities in a timely manner so companies can respond strategically. World-class companies maximize CI success by providing sufficient human and information resources, encouraging innovation and creativity in data collection processes, and, perhaps most importantly, adopting a clear set of operating guidelines and policies.

Guidelines that establish ethical and legal boundaries, spell out standard operating procedures and detail codes of conduct for CI practitioners increasingly are necessary to protect companies from financial and corporate risk.

CI guidelines also help practitioners to manage end-user expectations regarding what kind of information can be collected. However, rigorous guidelines and policies intended to mitigate risk sometimes can be too restrictive, preventing or hindering practitioners from doing their jobs. Effective organizations operate under balanced guidelines that are neither too limiting nor too loose.

Industries Profiled:

Biotech; Pharmaceutical; Health Care; Diagnostic

Companies Profiled:

Alcon Labs; Biogen Idec; Centocor; ConjuChem Biotechnologies; EMD Serono; Ethicon; Human Genome Sciences; Indegene Lifesystems; King Pharmaceuticals; PDL BioPharma; Shire Pharmaceuticals; Stiefel Laboratories; Theratechnologies; Vertex; Amgen; Baxter Healthcare; Eli Lilly & Co.; Merck & Co.; Roche Labs; Sanofi-Aventis; Takeda; Wyeth; Top Five Pharma

Study Snapshot

This benchmarking study was conducted to understand how U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations can optimize their CI operations while working within defined guidelines. The research examined a number of areas, including CI information sources and what is being collected. in addition, the study looked at how CI groups work with legal groups to develop standard operating procedures for data collection that are in the best interests of the organization as a whole and to maximize the CI department's ability to deliver results. Managers and executives in CI and CI-related groups can use this report to compare critical elements of their operations with those of leading firms.

"Competitive Intelligence Policies, Ethics and Data Collection: Navigating the Gray Zone" provides a comprehensive look at how pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies optimize their CI operations while working within defined guidelines and corporate policies. This report provides benchmarks, insights and best practices in key areas such as:

Processes for effective guidelines development
Extent of employee training on guidelines
Working relationships with legal departments
Pros and cons of using third-party vendors to collect intelligence
Critical sources of secondary and primary information
Data collection practices
Rapid response programs
Attitudes about information collection practices that may be in an ethical "gray area"
Best practices for managing stakeholder expectations
Executive insights for building winning CI organizations

Vice presidents, directors and managers at 24 companies participated in this benchmarking research. in addition, selected respondents from eight of the companies participated in individual interviews.

Key Findings

The following are select key findings from the report executive summary. Additional findings are available in the full document.

Multiple Sources Are Vital to Effective Ci

Triangulate from multiple data sources to develop the most accurate projections.
People, processes and use of third-party vendors are keys to optimizing data collection.
Hire the right people, utilize advanced internet search techniques, collect and review data over time to distill relevant, actionable information.
Talk with employees across functions inside your company to discover information gaps.

Hold Vendors to Strict Standards

Gain experience with and knowledge of third-party research vendors.

Ci Guidelines Enable Success

Work collaboratively with Legal to protect the company and to obtain Legal's buy-in and support.
Involve upper management to prove the value to the company of conducting CI.

Manage Internal Expectations up Front

CI must help educate the employees who make inappropriate or unobtainable requests for information.
Management must stand behind CI to protect the company and ensure the long-term success of the CU function.

Ci Executives Advise Emerging Ci Functions to Evolve

Link CI to the financial perspective to gain clout in the company.

Content

Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Research Approach
- Participant Demographics
- Definitions and Abbreviations
- Report Structure and Organization
- Key Findings
Essential Data Sources
- Preferred Secondary Data Sources
- Preferred Primary Data Sources
Data Collection Processes and Practices
- Innovative Secondary Research
- Innovative Primary Research
- Use of Third-Party Research Vendors in Primary Research
- Collecting Data within Set Guidelines
Development and Examples of Ci Guidelines
Managing Expectations
Best Practices and Advice for Building A
Successful Ci Function
- Advice from the Field
Appendices
- Appendix A - Scip Code of Ethics and Mission/Scip Vision
and Mission Statements
- SCIP Code of Ethics for CI Professionals
- APPENDIX B - ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE ACT OF 1996
List of Figures
- Figure 1.1 - Participating Companies
- Figure 1.2 - Participant Job Titles
- Figure 1.3 - Scope of Benchmark Companies
- Figure 2.1 - Multiple Data Sources are Vital
- Figure 2.2 - Key Secondary Information Sources
- Figure 2.3 - Most Effective Sources for Small Pharma
- Figure 2.4 - Most Effective Large Pharma Sources
- Figure 3.1 - Key CI Employee Skills
- Figure 3.2 - Internal Information Resources
- Figure 3.3 - CI Vendor Involvement
- Figure 3.4 - Primary Data Sources, Large Pharma
- Figure 3.5 - Primary Data Sources, Small Pharma
- Figure 3.6 - Holding Vendors to Strict Standards
- Figure 3.7 - Eliciting Dos and Don'ts
- Figure 4.1 - Examples of Guidelines Content
- Figure 4.2 - Guidelines, Small Pharma
- Figure 4.3 - CI Guidelines, Large Pharma
- Figure 4.4 - Legal creates Guidelines for Small Pharma
- Figure 4.5 - Legal and CI in Large Pharma
- Figure 4.6 - Process for Working Collaboratively with Legal
- Figure 4.7 - Limited Support for Risky CI Practices
- Figure 5.1 - Manage Expectations up Front
- Figure 5.2 - CI Plays Pivotal Role in Rapid Response Situations
- Figure 5.3 - Early Warning Process
- Figure 6.1 - Leaders Avoid Paying Honoraria for Intelligence
- Figure 6.2 - Developing an Intelligence Function Takes Time
- Figure 6.3 - Guidelines & Legal Relationship Reduce Squeeze on CI
- Figure 6.4 - Balance Risks of Doing CI against Risks of Not Doing IT