Where are we with a CI Journal now?

[klaus Söilen]

After the JCIM was put on ice there has been no major academic CI journal and the field has suffered much because of this. 

During the past two years I have participated in a number of different conferences related to Business Intelligence and Competitive Intelligence, the SIIE, the ECIS, SCIP and VSST to take the major ones. 

Those who are coming from a technical side have some possibilities when it comes to CI related material in already established/ISI web of knowledge journals. This alternative is less clear for the CI side. There are of course DSS, Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, European Journal of Iformation Systems, Information Systems Journal, Information Systems Research, Journal of Global Information management, Journal of MIS, MIS Quarterly, just to mention the more known and better ranked. But none of them are really advocating CI and BI in particular.  

I think there will be a journal of CI and BI during 2010, maybe one that is Open Source based. After ECIS 2009 such an initiative was taken. During SIIE 2010 a similar interest was shown. Similar ideas are up for the VSST 2010 in Toulouse in October. When the proposition does come it is important that it can be accepted by all groups. Running a scientificf journal is not the job of 1 or even 10 academics, but of 50 or 100. It is a large colloborative challenge. In this respect it is also important to know where SCIP stand and what the intereste of F&SI are. This social network on the ning started by Arik Johnson reatches many of these people. I welcome your opinions. 

Klaus 

PS. I hope you read the special report on Business Intelligence and the data deluge in the Economist the other week, it shows the importance of the BI/CI field in the years to come. 

[Michel Juneau-Katsuya]

I agree with you Klaus and the task is huge. If there is a distribution of responsibilities, it can be done. There is a great need to share more about successes and challenges. We can learn a lot from each others particularly between continents since we see the world differently and got different tools. I am ready to help in this matter. Looking forward to see what others think about it.
Regards,
Michel

[Dr. Avner Barnea]

No doubt Klaus that you are right. This need exists and the question how to set it up. I assume you remember the former Journal of Competitive Intelligence and Managemnt, by SCIP. I'm teaching CI in an MBA program in Israel, and I come across with this need when my students are writing papers on various issued related to CI. This is only one example.I personally see this journal connected more to business issues than to information systems. I hope that this discussion will be moved on, and I'm looking forward to further insights.

Can you please send the link to the article in the Economist - [e-mail]

[Dr. Avner Barnea]

Any development in this matter?

[Mikael Vingaard]

I believe that Klaus are referring to the following report:

http://www.economist.com/node/15579717

(this article is available to subscribers only, but a 14 days trial membership are available)

Regards,
Mikael

[klaus Söilen]

I have lobbyed for the idea of restarting a CI journal for the past year, since the ECIS 2009 conference in Stockholm last summer. This was to replace the JCIM.

As you will know if you do not have an ISI Web of knowledge Indexed journal you do not exist as a scientific field. period.

So far the heads of ECIS, SIIE and VSST Conferences have all been in favour of such an intitiative. Even most SCIP members have been most enthusiastic. Still SCIP has not yet made any commitments. Much will hopefully be solved during the VSST Conference in Toulouse in September.

In the meanwhile I continue to write CI articles for other established journals, which in one way seems a bit wasted. We will see, I am still optimistic about this.

Best

Klaus

[Arik Johnson]

Sorry to hear no progress yet Klaus.

[klaus Söilen]

Hi Arik,

I would say there is progress, it is just that the road is long.

I hope SCIP will understand the importance of reestablishing the journal. That is, if F&S wants to keep with the CI profile. If they do not "Competitive Intelligence" risk to fall into the long line of management phrases passed as a consultancy gimmic. Our PhD students are already talking of Market Intelligence instead. This was already a trend during the SCIP Conference in Bad Neuheim a few years ago. As such MI falls easier into a number of Marketing journals and would not require its own journal.

If F&S does not get involved the next CI journal will be a European dominated one, which I do not think is the best solution. It will probably also have much more technical stuff in it, in the line of Information Systems.

We will see, it is really a question of getting a large enough number of people to understand the importance of the issue of relauching. If not there will be other forms. The topics contained in CI will then only be absorbed and developed by others.

Klaus

[Arik Johnson]

I agree with your assessment Klaus - I have a few ideas as well - are you in China yet? Can I Skype you sometime?

[klaus Söilen]

Sure Arik, we are in Sweden most of the summer (except for a week in Prague starting sunday), then I go to China in the fall.

Klaus

[Arik Johnson]

Enjoy the vacation and let's chat when you're back - there's no hurry ;-)