It's important here to distinguish economic "espionage" and economic "intelligence."
There is also the difference between the business intelligence and business espionage ! The business intelligence is used to collect, evaluate, analyze etc. the business information and data that may include competitors, markets, economic trends, suppliers among others. The sources of this information are publicly and legally available for all companies and individuals. The formal or informal business intelligence system can be used. The successful use of the traditional business intelligence will result in the best results, when this information and data is eveluated, analyzed and disseminated in the most intelligent, reliable, timely and accurate manner. 100% of companies are already using the business intelligence (all companies are just not calling it the BI): some more successfully than others. The business intelligence can be used both for strategic and tactical purposes. Regards, Mark