Setting the standards for the professionalisation of competitive intelligence practice.

This paper identifies the five commonly accepted and applied standards required for a particular activity to be termed as a legitimate profession. The background to the use of standards to denote professionalism is identified and discussed. These are then applied to the current situation enjoyed by today's CI profession in a corporate environment. CI is measured against each of the five standards and is awarded a pass on one, a bare pass on one other, and a fail against the remaining three. A comprehensive list of recommendations makes it quite clear what employers, practitioners and scholars are now required to do to at least meet, and then exceed the five standards. It is suggested that without a concentrated and continuing effort, CI and CI practitioners will find it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to secure equal status with the well established, traditional professions, already resident in a corporate environment.