This paper examines the ways in which firms use the internet and its contents to conduct competitive intelligence. Due to the increased access to competitive data and the elimination of geographic boundaries, the internet raises new concerns about corporate privacy and corporate espionage. To investigate these issues, the competitive intelligence process, the internet as a research tool, and laws on privacy in Europe and North America are reviewed to understand the benefits and challenges of conducting competitive intelligence in a global context. Guidelines for evaluating the ethical status of internet competitive intelligence practices and protecting corporate secrets in a digital world are proposed.
The premise of this paper is that relationship marketing should be equated with ethical marketing. That is, ethical concepts are at the root of long term associations between companies. The field of virtue ethics is especially appropriate to this field. We propose that the virtues most consistent with relationship marketing are trust, commitment and diligence. Each are discussed in some depth along with both applications and future prospects.