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Intelligence in Action

Strategically Managing Knowledge Assets

verfasst von: G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan UK

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

First book to combine financial results with proprietary benchmarking data and in-depth interviews with experienced knowledge practitioners. The resulting framework provides an inside- and outside-the-firm view of the risks and opportunities found in knowledge management and competitive intelligence.

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Setting the Stage

Abstract

In 2005, in From Knowledge to Intelligence: Creating Competitive Advantage in the Next Economy, we introduced the Strategic Protection Factors (SPF) framework. This taxonomy reflected the dynamic interplay between knowledge management (KM) and the competitive need to develop and share the firm’s knowledge assets, and competitive intelligence (CI) activity that threaten these same assets. By examining the different circumstances in each SPF category, we suggested that an optimal balance between knowledge development and knowledge protection could be struck. The main idea was that knowledge needed to be managed strategically: sometimes aggressively pursuing KM, sometimes not, sometimes aggressively pursuing CI, sometimes not.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

2. SPF Review: Our Journey

Abstract

Several years ago, we authored our first book, From Knowledge to Intelligence, Creating Competitive Advantage in the Next Economy. In that book, we first proposed a framework, captured in the term Strategic Protection Factor (SPF), accomplishing several things related to the knowledge management (KM) and competitive intelligence (CI) fields.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

3. Preparing for Launch

Abstract

Measuring Knowledge Risk and Competitive Risk, as we are using the terms, is not easy. We have worked through a number of options over the years, applying an older database, and we have settled on a methodology that we believe yields the best picture of how firms measure up in terms of the two risks. From these metrics, one can get a sense of how important knowledge assets are to a particular firm, in a particular industry, relative to the entire population of organizations. Similarly, one can assess the level of competitive intelligence activity, and therefore risk, facing firms in an industry.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

4. SPF 45: From the Top

Abstract

In 2009, Zynga Game Network, Inc. filed a suit against Playdom (now owned by Disney). Zynga offers such well-known social games as Words with Friends, Farmville, and Mafia Wars (Arrington 2009, 2010). The suit, which was eventually settled on undisclosed terms (Morrison 2010, Nuttall 2010), also included several former Zynga employees who were hired away by Playdom. Among the specific claims made by Zynga were that Playdom illegally took:

(a)The same proven techniques to attract and retain online users as Zynga has developed, (b) the trade secrets and commercially valuable non-public proprietary data, techniques and methods for successfully developing, coding, improving, marketing, and monetizing online social games which Zynga has innovated and devised. (Zynga Complaint, p. 2)

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

5. SPF 45: From the Inside

Abstract

Motorola and various competitors have had a long-running feud over confidential information regarding cellular networking equipment and other technologies (Harris 2011, Rhoads 2010). The Schaumberg, IL firm has had a number of employees leave over the years and move to a firm called Lemko, started by some ex-Motorola hands in the same town. Lemko is alleged to have ties to Motorola’s Chinese competitor Huawei.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

6. SPF 30: From the Top

Abstract

In early 2011, automobile maker Renault was at the center of a highly publicized economic espionage allegation. Three Renault executives originally implicated were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing as the allegation turned out to be a hoax. Aside from the certainty about the innocence of the executives, everything else about the case remains murky (including who was behind the original anonymous allegation). But the case is illustrative of a number of characteristics of knowledge use in the automotive industry and in SPF 30.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

7. SPF 30: From the Inside

Abstract

In 2010, Sergey Aleynikov was charged with trade secret theft and related offenses (United States v. Aleynikov 2010). He had been employed by Goldman Sachs for over two years as a Vice President with responsibility for programming, specifically for “developing and maintaining some of the computer programs used to operate Goldman’s high-frequency trading system.” In June 2009, he left to take a similar, Executive VP position with Teza Technologies, charged with creating a competing trading platform. On exit, he allegedly downloaded files containing the source code for the “Platform” used by Goldman to “rapidly obtain information on the latest market movements, to process that information into a form that can be analyzed by the algorithms, and to execute the trading decisions…”

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

8. SPF 15: From the Top

Abstract

One industry that has seen tremendous change in terms of competition and the need for knowledge assets is drug retailing. The boring old drugstore is a thing of the past as the prescription drug part of the business has taken flight. Drugstores were always somewhat unique in retail because of the presence of highly trained, licensed pharmacists. But change has occurred and even accelerated in recent years.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

9. SPF 15: From the Inside

Abstract

We have talked a bit about large market share firms in SPF 15 industries. The toy industry does not show up on the lists covered in the last chapter (too few firms/observations in our database) but there are few competitive arenas with a more long-standing, powerful market presence than Mattel and Barbie. The firms that did represent this industry fell squarely into the SPF 15 quadrant, with substantive knowledge value and no recognizable CI activity (though we will talk about how this might be changing). So we feel comfortable using the long, detailed legal skirmish between Mattel and MGA Entertainment as an illustrative example of conditions in these types of industries.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

10. SPF 5: From the Top

Abstract

The hotel industry is not technically in SPF 5, rating a KM value of 1.05 and a CI value of 1, but it is clearly very close. And the presence of a single firm, with a higher KM value, actually pushes the entire industry above the 1.00 cutoff—the rest of the firms fall well within the SPF 5 values. Given a dearth of interesting examples from SPF 5, since knowledge often is not worth fighting over or writing about, this “close enough” industry can help illustrate some of the circumstances found in SPF 5.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

11. SPF 5: From the Inside

Abstract

Li & Fung is one of those companies with its hand in so many businesses that assigning it to a single specific industry is difficult. But most of what the firm does falls into the wholesaler/distributor SIC categories around SIC 56, typically including both higher KM retailers and lower KM wholesalers. Li & Fung is principally part of the latter group.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

12. Conclusions: More is Not Always Better, Better is Knowing What is More

Abstract

After a full journey through the SPF universe, the essential point of our argument should be clear. If you look closely enough, there are easily distinguishable differences in the environments within which firms manage their knowledge assets. Any strategist will tell you that the best course of action is heavily dependent on circumstances. That could go double or triple for knowledge development, knowledge protection, and competitive knowledge acquisition.

G. Scott Erickson, Helen N. Rothberg

Backmatter

Titel: Intelligence in Action
verfasst von: G. Scott Erickson
Helen N. Rothberg
Copyright-Jahr: 2012
Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-137-03532-5
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-34545-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137035325

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