L’intelligence économique | Bernard QUIRIN | TEDxBelfort

Summary

This insightful presentation explores the concept of economic intelligence, emphasizing the importance of strategic foresight and information management in today's competitive global landscape. Using real-world examples, such as the downfall of Plissorol and the U.S. embargo on French mimolette cheese, the speaker illustrates how businesses and governments must anticipate, protect, and influence to safeguard their assets and interests. The core components of economic intelligence—surveillance, asset protection, and influence—are shown to be essential tools for navigating complex international markets, ensuring competitiveness and shaping favorable outcomes in the face of strategic threats.

Takeaways

• 😀 Economic intelligence is the strategic use of information to make informed decisions and enhance competitiveness.
• 😀 In today's hyper-competitive world, businesses must anticipate actions and threats, not just react to them.
• 😀 The case of Plissorol illustrates how a Chinese acquisition led to the destruction of a French company, with political and economic pressures undermining its survival.
• 😀 Intelligence is not just about gathering information, but also about analyzing and acting on it to safeguard a company’s future.
• 😀 Economic intelligence involves understanding your competitors' strategies, motivations, and cultural backgrounds to anticipate their moves effectively.
• 😀 The mimolette cheese ban in the U.S. was not just a regulatory issue but a geopolitical maneuver tied to trade negotiations between the EU and the U.S.
• 😀 Protecting corporate assets and technologies is crucial, as demonstrated by the French efforts to prevent the sale of strategic industrial assets to Chinese companies.
• 😀 Effective economic intelligence requires a well-coordinated monitoring system to detect ‘weak signals’ early and act upon them.
• 😀 Anticipation, rapid response, and networked collaboration are key elements in safeguarding national and corporate interests in a globalized economy.
• 😀 Cultural empathy is essential in economic intelligence, as understanding and respecting different cultural approaches can provide a strategic advantage in international business.

Q & A

What is economic intelligence, and how is it applied in business?

Economic intelligence is the process of collecting, analyzing, and using information to make strategic decisions. It involves gathering relevant data to enhance competitiveness and to anticipate challenges in a highly competitive environment.

How did the Chinese strategy impact the French company Plissorol?

The Chinese strategy involved acquiring Plissorol, not to develop it, but to seize its assets and a significant forest concession in Gabon. The Chinese company used this concession to transport timber to China, process it there, and then export it to Europe under a different label to circumvent the European embargo on Chinese plywood.

What role did economic intelligence play in the Plissorol case?

Economic intelligence helped the team in Normandy uncover the Chinese strategy to take control of Plissorol's assets. However, it was too late to prevent the company's downfall, as the strategy had already been set in motion.

Why was the response to the Chinese takeover of Plissorol considered 'too weak'?

The response was considered weak because the Chinese strategy to dominate the timber market was not perceived in time, and the authorities failed to anticipate the full scale of the Chinese ambitions. Additionally, the response was too slow, underestimating the determination and coherence of the Chinese approach.

What was the significance of the crash test failure of the Chinese car manufacturer Jil?

The crash test failure of the Chinese manufacturer Jil in 2007 highlighted the priority that China was placing on producing safe and reliable cars. This led to a broader shift in the Chinese automotive industry, which affected European suppliers, particularly in the case of the automotive company Tison Group.

How did intelligence help in the acquisition of Tison Group by the Chinese company Chuang?

Economic intelligence helped by uncovering confidential talks between Tison Group and Chuang. The French automotive manufacturers were informed about the risk and prepared a stronger bid, which eventually led to Tison Group agreeing to sell to a European competitor instead of the Chinese company.

What is the role of empathy in economic intelligence?

Empathy in economic intelligence is essential to understanding the culture and mindset of the competitors or stakeholders. It allows decision-makers to anticipate actions by thinking like their counterparts, considering their objectives, methods, and timing.

What is the relationship between the mimolette cheese and the transatlantic trade negotiations?

The controversy around the mimolette cheese was a strategic move in the broader context of EU-US trade negotiations. The EU wanted to keep sanitary standards out of these discussions, while the US sought to challenge Europe's barriers on GMOs. The mimolette became a symbol of this larger political and economic struggle.

How did the mimolette case demonstrate the influence aspect of economic intelligence?

The mimolette case showed how influence can be used to shift public opinion and change regulatory outcomes. Through a coordinated public relations campaign, including social media and media coverage, the French successfully reversed the US's ban on the cheese, making it a case of strategic influence.

What are the three components of economic intelligence discussed in the transcript?

The three components of economic intelligence discussed are: 1) Monitoring (veille), which involves gathering relevant information; 2) Protecting the company's assets, such as technology and intellectual property; and 3) Influence, which aims to shape external perceptions and prepare the ground for favorable outcomes in business or politics.