Economic Intelligence Information and Process in Shipping Companies in Morocco: The Case of TangerMed Area

摘要

This article presents the results of a survey conducted in 2014-2015 on the practices of economic intelligence within a population of 100 shipping companies in the area of TangerMed. The research objective is to check whether information management strategy and economic intelligence exists in these types of companies, and how to exploit internal and external information of the different actors in the same business in order to prevent risks, seize opportunities and to anticipate threats. Such type of companies lives in a context of economic struggle where they try to protect their status and promote their development. The research seeks to present practical situations and provide clear recommendations to resolve the difficulties threatening their existence on a daily basis. Data elicited from the respondents provide reliable results thanks to a well targeted sampling of interviewees. The activities of shipping companies are divided into four categories: shipping agents, ships' consignees, freight forwarders and forwarding agents. TangerMed area was chosen on the basis oj the high concentration of shipping companies attracted by competitive advantages of the bustling port hub. The analysis of questionnaires revealed that 27 interviewees did not respond to questions knowing that the results discussed are derived from 73 questionnaires. It appears that the need for economic intelligence is an emerging concept in these types of companies, despite the considerable need to it. El provides a number of advantages, in terms of organization, competitiveness and process. This study aims to increase knowledge of these type of companies. The approach is descriptive and explanatory, and thus allows room for the evaluation of the spread and ownership of the concept.