Competitive Intelligence and UK Banking Strategy

The purpose of this book is to establish the status of, and to comment on, current practice regarding the use of Competitive Intelligence (CI) in the UK financial services industry in general and in the banking industry in particular. It begins by examining the literature, finding a considerable degree of confusion regarding the use of the various terms for intelligence gathering and its processes, and identifying a substantial gap in the almost total absence of scholarly comment on the use of intelligence gathering in services industries in general and the banking industry in particular. The competitive environment in which UK banks operate is also examined, as well as the detailed literature on the theory and practice of the various stages of the CI process, with particular emphasis on its use in the formulation of strategy.