Environmental turbulence and the success of a firm's intelligence strategy: development of research instruments

Seventy two questionnaires returned by members of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, provided evidence for a negative relationship between the strategic intelligence function’s (SIF) success and a gap between the firm’s environmental turbulence level and its strategic intelligence strategy (SIS). Multiple regression test results .752 at 0.1, and Pearson r-coefficient at <0.0025 supported the hypothesis. The environment was measured by five levels of turbulence: stable, reactive, anticipatory, exploring, and creative. Each had four attributes: the novelty, speed of change, complexity, and predictability of change. The measurement of the SIS focused on its: scope, novelty, time frame, threats and opportunities, and purpose. The success of the SIF was measured by top manager’s: rating of its overall performance, ratio of the use of information provided by the SIF vs other sources, use of information provided by other sources, perception of the competitive advantage resulting from the information provided, perception of the importance of the information, and the average of the five above. The implications are a need for alignment of a SIS to the global business environment and effective measurement of SIF’s success