A Competitive Intelligence Practices Typology in an Airline Company in Turkey

Abstract

Oil prices, political instabilities, travel legislations, and many other competitive factors make it essential for any international airline with the instinct to survive to be on constant watch in such a fiercely competitive environment. To meet this need, it is vital for international airline companies to integrate competitive intelligence (CI) into their strategy building process. In this study, we create for the first time a typology of competitive intelligence practices of an international airline company (in Turkey), based on the model developed by (Wright et al.Journal of Strategic Marketing, 20(1), 19-33,2012), and it is one of the very first to investigate Competitive intelligence in this sector. Furthermore, we made a two-step cluster analysis to uncover hidden clusters that change the way of thinking within the company. Our findings show where the company would need to make improvements on the 6 strands of the model which are attitude, gathering, use, location, technological support, and IT support. Yet, that could lead towards stronger business performance. It might also inspire other companies of the airline sector and beyond.