Competitive Intelligence can be defined as “the process of collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of information of strategic importance about an organization’s industry and competitors, which is passed on at an appropriate time to the parties responsible for decision making." (Gibbons and Prescott, 1996). Within the field of Competitive Intelligence are included the concepts of Technology Watch, Business analysis and Competitor analysis. Intelligence is seen as an all-encompassing process which includes the information and results obtained from the observation of various areas of activity.

The field of Competitive Intelligence is evolving rapidly, both in the methods for obtaining relevant information, and in the analysis and dissemination of the information obtained. Recently developed tools can give a surprising amount of information: robotic internet searches; the use of maps; data mining; alerting systems, and the use of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) formats, are some of the features that are built in to the most recent products.

Competitive Intelligence is continually finding new applications, in addition to those found in corporate use, such as the planning of R&D projects by public administrations, or the management of geographical areas to help foment the development of countries, regions or towns. This International Conference aims to offer a global view of the current state of the field of Competitive Intelligence.