The 2009 spring final exam for the Certificate of Proficiency in Competitive Intelligence – CPCI™ - took place at the DOLCE, Bad Nauheim at the 26th of February.

Per Institute for Competitive Intelligence exam guideline candidates had to attend 28 workshop days and successfully submit a thesis prior to exam registration.

The closed-book Certificate of Proficiency in Competitive Intelligence final exam consists of two parts. Traditionally the exam day is launched with a 4 hours written exam – After a lunch break the Certificate of Proficiency in Competitive Intelligence candidates advance into the oral exam. After an individual one hour case study read in, candidates are finally asked to face the Institute for Competitive Intelligence exam board individually discussing the case study.

2009 year’s oral spring exam case study was a competitive threat analysis of XING vs. Linkedin – both are social network platforms. Based on recent magazine articles candidates were asked to learn the background, strategy and service offering features of both successful start-ups. Both companies enjoyed significant growth and a somewhat stable profitability in recent years.

For several years the US based Linkedin had announced its intent to launch a German version of their website – targeting its main competitor, XING with a stronghold of clients in its originating country Germany. Still, this new offering wasn’t introduced at all.
From a perspective of a Linkedin Competitive Intelligence analyst candidates were tasked to summarize potential (imaginary) Linkedin investors about potential opportunities and risks of future development – with a focus on the intended expansion in Germany/Europe.

Especially Competitive Intelligence analysis should reveal the success likelihood of the intended market launch of the German platform version, potential reactions by XING (and resulting impacts on Linkedin) and general developments in this market place.

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Finally all candidates passed the 2009 spring exam! Congratulations from the Institute for Competitive Intelligence Management and Faculty!

Note: Just days prior to the exam Linkedin finally did launch its German platform – time will tell how well the Institute for Competitive Intelligence candidates were able to predict the outcome of this next move in a very dynamic competitive environment.

Final Note: Both competitors announced that they even increased their respective revenues throughout the recent financial and economic crisis! In tough times like these users were said to be even more willing to subscribe to the “premium”, hence revenue generating, services. Networking [ICI-25] as a means of finding new jobs and enjoying the comradeship of like-minded individuals in barren times seems to be the name of the game!