Business Horizons, Volume 18, n° 3, In the company of spies: When competitive intelligence gathering becomes industrial espionage - Andrew Crane (2005) - To what extent can the legitimate collection of information for a company be considered as industrial espionage?

Extract

[...] Business Horizons, Volume 18, n° 3, In the company of spies: When competitive intelligence gathering becomes industrial espionage - Andrew Crane (2005) - To what extent can the legitimate collection of information for a company be considered as industrial espionage? Case study of an article on industrial espionage Wrote by Andrew Crane, from the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of Nottingham Business School in 2005 and entitled In the company of spies: When competitive intelligence gathering becomes industrial espionage1, the article try to understand how competitive intelligence can be considered as industrial espionage. [...]

[...] In conclusion, this article is very avant-garde in understanding the industrial issues of large companies and helps to understand their true interests. Very briefly, however, there is a lack of in-depth theoretical analysis, which is to be regretted. However, I would recommend this article to sociology students who will find an interesting aspect in the behavioural study of individuals at the company level in order to answer the following question: what motivates an employee to commit an illegal act and thus expose himself to risks in the interest of his company? [...]

[...] In order to demonstrate that there is a link between competitive intelligence and industrial espionage, Andrew Crane first proposes to define what industrial espionage really is, notably through an empirical definition provided by the SCIP industry association (page 234). From this definition, the author integrates a normative dimension into his research by answering this question; which practices are legal (which can therefore be characterized as competitive intelligence) and which practices are illegal (which would be considered as industrial espionage). Once the normative difference has been demonstrated, the author highlights four cases to demonstrate the institutionalization of this practice, dating back at least to the 1990s and the famous British Airways v. [...]

[...] These examples allow the author to demonstrate that competitive intelligence is not a simple "accident" linked to the work of industrialists but that there is a real willingness on the part of companies to "steal" information. The other cases used by the author also demonstrate this. The article is part of a logic to better understand the organization of a company such as a multinational, particularly with regard to the issues involved. Therefore, the following quote is available on page 239: [?What we have also seen here is a blurring of boundaries between state and industrial espionage. [...]