Business intelligence methods — How ethical

In recent years, we have experienced some revival of society's concerns with the ethics of business practices as a result of several scandals. However, severe competitive pressures seem to continue to force executives to resort to marginally ethical ways that would provide knowledge about competitors' operations. Therefore, an empirical study was conducted during Spring and Summer of 1991 about information gathering methods by businesses regarding operations of competitors. Respondents were employed in a variety of different industries. A convenience sample was administered in two adjoining states, with one group residing in an urban city and the other in smaller predominantly rural communities.Analysis of perceptions held by these two groups supports the hypothesis that rural residents tend to be more conservative and less approving of questionable methods of information gathering. Similarly, within each group and in the sample as a whole, differences in condoning or disapproving information gathering methods were discovered on the basis of demographic characteristics of respondents.John Hallaq is a professor of marketing and international business at the University of Idaho. He won the A. D. Davis Free Enterprise Award in 1989. He has presented and published several articles dealing with country comparative studies and privatization trends.Kirk Steinhorst is a professor of statistics and statistical consultant at the University of Idaho. Recent articles include collaborative research in business, ecology, and geology.