Influence of Competitive Intelligence on Profitability of Mobile Telecommunication Companies in Kenya

The process of collecting, storing, analyzing and making use of information on business or organization's external environment constitute an informed actionable intelligence ascertained by the needs prescribed by any business entity. The rapidly changing business climate created by advances in technologies, economic and social changes as well as the ever shortening product life cycles, lead to hyper-competition, demanding that firms embrace competitive intelligence as a strategy. This study sought to fill the existing knowledge gap by carrying out an investigation of competitive intelligence practices for greater profitability in the mobile telecommunication industry in Kenya.
The study employed descriptive research design and targeted management staffs who directly deal with the day to day management of the four mobile telecommunication companies providing primary data while in-house text books, reports, journals, newspapers and companies' websites and publications constituted secondary data sources. The study established that competitive intelligence practices play a vital role in overall profitability of mobile telecommunication companies in Kenya. The practices lead to greater profitability through reduction in cost for the companies with technology intelligence practices being the most practiced and also contributing the most in terms of competitive intelligence for greater profitability.