Library Science, Knowledge Management, Competitive Intelligence: Archive Theory-The Common Link

The gathering, organization, and archiving of critical business intelligence is a complex task. Competitive Intelligence systems gather information for use in the decision making process. Knowledge Management Systems are used to organize this knowledge. Library Science provides structure for the storage of published documents, in both printed and electronic formats. This paper proposes that the common link among the three disciplines is Archive Theory, which is the process by which an archive of information is built. This process provides a framework for analysis of what documents or information to retain and what format to use when retaining them. The paper details the linkage and concludes with an example of a working system that ties all parts together.