decision-makers. Market intelligence has a shorter time horizon than other intelligence areas, and is measured in days, weeks, or (in slower-moving industries) months. Market research is a tactical, method-driven field consisting of neutral, primary research of customer data (beliefs and perceptions) gathered in surveys or focus groups, and is analyzed with statistical-research techniques. CI draws on a wider variety (primary and secondary) of sources from a wider range of stakeholders (suppliers, competitors, distributors, substitutes and media) to answer existing questions, raise new ones and guide action. Ben Gilad and Jan Herring lay down a set of prerequisites defining CI, distinguishing it from other information-rich disciplines such as market research or business development. They show that a common body of knowledge and a unique set of tools (key intelligence topics, business war games and blindspots analysis) distinguish CI; while other sensory activities in a commercial firm focus on one segment of the market (customers, suppliers or acquisition targets), CI synthesizes data from all high-impact players (HIP). Gilad later focused his delineation of CI on the difference between information and intelligence. According to him, the common denominator among organizational sensory functions (whether they are called market research, business intelligence or market intelligence) is that they deliver information rather than intelligence. Intelligence, says Gilad, is a perspective on facts rather than the facts themselves. Unique among corporate functions, competitive intelligence has a perspective of risks and opportunities for a firm's performance; as such, it (not information activities) is part of an organization's risk-management activity. Ethics Ethics has been a long-held issue of discussion among CI practitioners. The questions revolve around what is and is not allowable in terms of CI activity. Several scholarly treatments have been generated on this topic, most prominently addressed through Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals publications. The book Competitive Intelligence Ethics: Navigating the Gray Zone provides nearly twenty separate views about ethics in CI, as well as another 10 codes used by various individuals or organizations. Combining that with the over two dozen scholarly articles or studies found within the various CI bibliographic entries, it is clear that no shortage of study has gone into better classifying, understanding, and addressing CI ethics. Competitive information may be obtained from public or subscription sources, from networking with competitor staff or customers, disassembly of competitor products or from field research interviews. Competitive intelligence research is distinguishable from industrial espionage, as CI practitioners