Internet Survey

Survey of Uses of The Internet for Competitive Information

I am a member of a group of graduate students conducting exploratory research on the use (and potential use) by commercial users of the Internet as a competitive intelligence resource. By competitive intelligence, we mean information of *any* sort which might give your organization a competitive edge. A few simple examples might be:

• establishing contacts with others in your field whom you might not have met otherwise;
• using/monitoring listservs on topics of interest to your firm to get insights or advice on a problem or situation;
• retrieving data/files/software from remote, unaffiliated sites on a more timely basis than might otherwise be the case.

We would appreciate it if you would consider and answer each of the three following questions, which will help us gain insights into how the Internet is being or may be used for competitive purposes. Please don't let our examples hamper your imagination! Your response, via e-mail, can be sent to the address listed at the end of this message.

Please note that any information you share with us will be held in the strictest confidence.

1. Could you share any anedotes about how you, or others in your organization, have used the Internet to gain information which is useful for competitive purposes?
2. In what ways do you imagine the Internet might be used for making your firm more competitive, even if you haven't used it in such a manner.
3. Some might perceive no place for the Internet in the corporate competitive intelligence environment. For instance, some feel that corporate data security might be compromised, or that information retrieved from the Internet is of dubious nature. Others even feel that employees will waste corporate time "playing" on the Internet. In light of your answers to the first two questions, what's your opinion on this subject?

Again, we emphasize that your responses will remain confidential. Please respond as soon as you can.
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We encourage you to respond, as it will broaden our understanding of the enviroment in which the Internet is expanding. We would be more than happy to share the results of our study with you if you wish (mid-December). Simply indicate this in your response.

Thank you for taking the time to assist us.

Sincerely,

Edward Sona
Indiana University, School of Library and Information Science

Please respond as soon as you can Received on Tue Nov 23 1993 - 03:31:32 CET