Competitive intelligence practice in the South African property sector

Abstract

Background: The South African property sector contributes highly to creating jobs, skills development, poverty reduction and economic growth. Although South Africa dropped in the global competitiveness ranking, the property sector of South Africa remains very competitive. To survive in a competitive sector, firms around the world practice competitive intelligence(CI). Although the use of CI has been examined in other sectors in South Africa, no study on CI practice has been conducted in the property sector.Objectives: The objective of this research was to establish the extent to which the property sector of South Africa practices CI.Method: This research was quantitative in nature and a web-based questionnaire was used to collect data from estate agencies in the South African property sector.Results: The results indicate that the South African property sector is very competitive and estate agencies practice CI to gain competitive advantage and make quality decisions.Moreover, the results reveal that the property sector practice CI legally and ethically. The results indicate that the majority of estate agencies are very small employing at most five employees and make at most 5 million Rands annual turnover.Conclusion: The South African property sector ethically and legally practices CI to gain competitive advantage and to aid in making quality decisions.