Need for competitive business intelligence shouldn’t lead to “industrial espionage”: Alistair Nicholas
July 31, 2009 @ 11:13 am
President and CEO of AC Capital Strategic Consulting, Alistair Nicholas, recently drew a distinction between the gathering of competitive business intelligence and “industrial espionage”, which he said was unethical and illegal in most countries.
Nicholas made his comments during a panel discussion on China Radio International’s (CRI) daily talk show, Today on Wednesday 29 July 2009.
The topic of the 40-minute discussion, which you can listen to in full below or on the CRI website, here, included three other panelists. Alistair Nicholas answered questions from Today’s hosts, covering issues ranging from the definition of industrial espionage to the boundaries between what is ethical and what isn’t, and the difficulties of enforcing non-disclosure agreements.
During the discussion, Alistair stated that although information gathering is crucial to business success, “only ethical companies can survive in the long run”, using US company Enron as an example of what can happen when companies act fraudulently.
Asked whether the current recessionary climate has led to or is likely to lead to an increase in industrial or commercial espionage, Alistair Nicholas said that “companies are always interested in competitive information”, regardless of the economic climate, adding that “in times of a hostile take-over, getting information is always vital”.
Play the interview in full below, or listen to it on the CRI website, here.
Alistair Nicholas is a highly regarded corporate trainer in the China market. He has designed and delivered training programs covering crisis management and ethical behavior for many multinational corporations and leading Chinese companies, including large State-owned enterprises, over the past 10 years.
He is also a speaker with China Global Speakers’ bureau and can be booked for speaking engagements via our online booking form.
