Natural intelligence applications for business intelligence in online and catalogue retailing firms: a case study

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of business intelligence (BI) applications and customer relationship management (CRM) over the past decades has created many opportunities for natural intelligence theory to be used in business applications. The theory of natural intelligence can help to explain some of the strategies in the e-commerce arena. Indeed, companies have been using herd behaviour and swarm applications of natural intelligence to solve complex business operation problems. The sudden and unexpected failure and liquidation of one of the largest catalogue sales companies in the USA presents an opportunity for a unique case study for natural intelligence (NI) applications in retailing. This paper uses the experiences of three separate Fingerhut Companies (now Bluestem Brands) to validate the NI and BI concepts. For nearly two decades the authors have had the rare opportunity to interview executives and other representatives of critical members of the Fingerhut community. The paper ends with lessons learned and discussions of new insights.