Abstract

LABRA SALGADO, Omar Salim; RIVERA, Gibrán  and  REYES GARCIA, Juan Ignacio. SWOT analysis of the use of Competitive Intelligence in small Enterprises in the clothing industry. Vis. futuro [online]. 2017, vol.21, n.1. ISSN 1668-8708.

Much of existing studies analysing Competitive Intelligence (CI) practices have been conducted within the context of large organizations, which tend to have complex CI models. However, despite the importance of CI in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), IC practices have been underexplored within the context of SMEs. The present study aims at assessing the conditions of SMEs to implement CI processes. The study was conducted within the context of SMEs in the clothing industry because it is in a highly competitive market where any advantage over the competition can be significant for the permanence of these businesses. Six SMEs with similar characteristics were studied.  Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and were further analysed using thematic analysis as informed by Braun and Clarke (2006). This analysis was complemented by an analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) by which it was possible to assess the current conditions of the SMEs studied for implementing CI processes. The results show that the characteristics that SMEs have in common are areas of opportunity for this process.

Keywords : Competitive Intelligence; SMEs; Analysis SWOT; Clothing Industry.