Other cultures breed other standards.

The first thing to understand about competitive intelligence(CI) in other countries is that other cultures have other standards. For example, in some countries, bribing officials as part of the contract process is considered a standard business practice, and not illegal, or even immoral. So too it is in information collecting. Culture effects how companies practice, view, collect and use intelligence.

Someone said, if you can’t play a military or political role anymore, the only way to remain independent is to be economically successful. Often the only way to be economically successful is to have better information than your competitor.

FRANCE

Americans often tend to think that the French practice industrial espionage, and use illegal methods.

It has been said that at the end of the cold war, when everyone else was firing spies, France simply shifted the extra personnel over to economic espionage. This was not a new idea for the French, since the Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure (DGSE) was operating in the late 80’s, and was alleged to have spied on companies like IBM, and Texas instruments, along with certain defense contractors, turning the information over to French companies.

In fact, a French company can hire government operatives to collect competitive intelligence for them. The French tend to see themselves as allies, militarily, and enemies, economically, of other western countries.

GERMANY

The history of competitive intelligence in Germany goes back to the 15^th century, when the House of Fugger Bank collected, and disseminated intelligence for its’ sales force. Like Japan, Germany used CI extensively to get the country back on its’ feet after WW2. In the intervening years, use and collection of intelligence lagged, because the word intelligence has very negative connotations in German.

In recent years, this trend has been reversed, with the major banks leading the charge toward collection and dissemination of information for its clients. (aided and abetted by the Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND, originally formed after WW2 to watch the Soviets) 

SWEDEN

It has been said that “Sweden is a small country. Everybody knows everybody else” There are a handful of companies who provide almost all of Swedens new products and services, and they are all serious forces in the international marketplace. Swedes see intelligence as a non military way to insure national peace and tranquility.

They all share information to work towards this common goal. The banks play a big role in this effort, (having formed Upplysnigs Centralen, a competitive intelligence research company in the 70’s) along with the Swedish government and its embassies around the world, who quite openly admit their role.

The calling is well respected, and it was a Swedish University who first offered a masters level degree in CI

US, UK, and Canada.

There is a tendency to assume that government is NOT here to help you, and most efforts are privately initiated. In consequence, largely it is the multinationals who are leading in use of CI, but the use of database information is growing very rapidly.  A huge percentage of the multinationals are using the tool very extensively, and probably none are not using some aspect.

RUSSIA

After the Soviet Union collapsed, Much of Russias military intelligence machinery turned to economic espionage. Conditions are so grinding there now, that the External Intelligence Service of Russia, part of the old KGB’s first directorate, is seen as helping to bring prosperity and hard currency into the country by stealing business information and technology.

JAPAN

Books can, and have, been written about Japanese intelligence work The country, not only from the cultural stand point, but also the language and the history, make them collectors of information extraordinaire. 

It was said in the late 90’s that there were as many as 55,000 individuals, collecting data and sending it back to the Japanese government for analysis. Visit a trade show, take a few photos, pick up some brochures, and send them back to the Japanese government. Every Japanese citizen is an unpaid operative. Years before they enter a new market, even the tourists are being debriefed as to conditions in that market.

PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

As with Japan, an understanding of the culture, language and history is necessary to understand their use of competitive intelligence. Even Sun Tsu, revered ancient Chinese General, commented extensively on the use of intelligence. However, under the centrally planned dictatorship, the Qing Bao (Formed in 1956) took an unusual turn, and concentrated on providing primarily internal information for central planning purposes, all concentrated within the country.

Currently they seem to feel a need to play catchup, and are said to have currently been engaging in industrial espionage tactics at an international level.