Abstract
The purpose of this research paper was to explore the extent to which strategic intelligence is utilised within the South African long-term insurance industry and whether it could be used to identify opportunities or threats within the global environment to remain competitive, create greater innovation, and corporate advantage.The paper obtained the qualitative views and opinions of strategic decision makers, on an executive managerial level within the South African long-term insurance industry, on their organisations use of strategic intelligence. It was found that there are marked differences in the conformity and usage of strategic intelligence and its components between the organisations surveyed, with a measurable difference between large and small organisations. It is, however, generally viewed that the use of a strategic intelligence framework could greatly enhance decision-making.Data collection for the research undertaken was limited to the 82 long-term insurance companies, which were registered with the South African Financial Services Board. More specifically the focus was on the organisations listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange within the Life Assurance sector, within which a final response rate of 36.1% was achieved, including the 100% response rate from the six listed organisations.By understanding the extent to which strategic intelligence is utilised in the South African longterminsurance industry, and the benefits or problems that are experienced by implementing and using strategic intelligence as an input to the strategic management process we can comprehend the value that strategic intelligence adds in the decision making process. The originality of this work concludes in the identification and utilisation of the most important factors of a strategic intelligence framework that will greatly enhance global corporate decisionmakingand result in competitive advantage and constant innovation within the South African business environment.
Highlights
The world has experienced a radical shift in the basic foundations of how business is conducted
The results indicate that strategic management is to a large extent utilised within organisations in the long-term insurance industry; smaller organisations are at a disadvantage with regards to the provision of information to management
The results indicate that the vast majority of organisations in the long-term insurance industry do believe that knowledge management provides value as a strategic tool, and had a culture conducive to knowledge sharing where employees are responsible for contributing knowledge in their specific area of expertise
Summary
The world has experienced a radical shift in the basic foundations of how business is conducted. The shift has been strengthened through the decline of trade barriers and fundamental developments in communication, information and transportation technologies. Globalisation resulted in greater world output, foreign investment, greater imports and exports and immense competitive pressures both between nations and industries (Hill 2005; Pearce & Robinson 2005). External factors influence the organisations’ direction, organisational structure and internal processes. These factors that exist in the organisations’ remote, industry and operating environments require constant monitoring for the formulation of strategies to optimise the organisations market opportunities and threats to allow them to survive in their competitive environment (Pearce & Robinson 2005)
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