Advancing competitive advantage in manufacturing firms through competitive intelligence

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between Competitive Intelligence Practices and Competitive Advantage in Manufacturing Industry: A study of selected Aluminum Firms in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to ascertain the effect of the selected measures of Competitive Intelligence, namely; Strategic Intelligence (SI) and Innovative Intelligence (II) on Competitive Advantage (CA). The responses from the respondents were collected with the aid of five (5) Likert scale questionnaires and descriptive survey research. A total of one hundred and sixty-nine (169) questionnaires were administered, out of the one hundred and sixty-nine (169) questionnaires administered to staff of selected registered Aluminium Firms.  One hundred and forty-six (146) were retrieved and properly filled. These one hundred and forty-six (146) respondents represent 86.39 per cent of the total questionnaire administered, which shows that one hundred and forty-six (146) respondents are sufficient for the study. Thus, the sample used for the study was the one hundred and forty-six (146) respondents from the staff of Aluminium Industries used. The questionnaire was coded with the aid of an excel spread sheet, the respondent's profile was analyzed with manual simple percentage, and the research questions were analyzed with the aid of descriptive statistics, correlation matrix and multiple regression statistical tools with the aid of SPSS version 23 as the basis of testing hypotheses. The findings revealed that Strategic Intelligence (SI) and Innovative Intelligence (II) have a significant relationship with Competitive Advantage (CA). From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that overall the competitive intelligence practices had a positive significant effect on the competitive advantage in selected Aluminum Firms. Thereby the study recommends that there should be adequate investment in the competitive intelligence process, facilities, and activities by the manufacturing firms to be innovative in their product, services and competitive dispositions.