“If there was only one truth, you could not paint a hundred canvases on a single theme.”\ud
Pablo Picasso, 1966\ud
Companies are faced with changing markets, stiffening competition, increasing uncertainty\ud
and as a result are thus confronted with a situation that makes it ever more difficult to keep\ud
abreast of the latest developments in technology and trends in society. Market intelligence\ud
as a methodology of practice provides an organisation with the opportunity to capture\ud
competitive information and to transform it into valuable intelligence in order to identify\ud
opportunities and threats at an early stage.\ud
Systematically reviewing the existing literature on market intelligence and related concepts\ud
has shown that, apart from a fragmented state of research worth its while to reconsider, no\ud
conceptual framework on market intelligence in the plant building industry is available.\ud
An exploratory and qualitative case study that used semi-structured interviews with experts\ud
from the industry has led to negotiating a shared sense of understanding and to a refined\ud
conceptual framework on plant building market intelligence. The conceptual framework\ud
developed consists of three pillars: (1) central intelligence, (2) decentralization to\ud
operational divisions and (3) inter-departmental intelligence communities influenced by the\ud
characteristics and peculiarities of the very industry.\ud
This framework allows for a conceptualization that connects market intelligence to many\ud
organizational units and layers, therefore supporting diffusion of intelligence throughout the\ud
company. It furthermore fosters exchange of information and knowledge by looking beyond\ud
computerized databases, connects with learning processes and builds on integrated analysis\ud
frameworks based on social networks as an organic strategy.\ud
Significantly, inter-departmental intelligence communities are well suited to provide the\ud
connection between intelligence, reflection, action and learning. This is deemed particularly\ud
valuable in times where decision making has become ever harder due to turbulent\ud
environments, reducing the relevance of plain cost-benefit and probabilistic reasoning\ud
approaches