Strategic intelligence as an art and a science: creating and using conceptual frameworks

2019/10/22 by Itai Shapira
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Competitive and Knowledge Intelligence #Intelligence, Security, War Strategy

paper · doi:10.1080/02684527.2019.1681135

openalex publication_date 2019/10/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

This article describes a major output of strategic intelligence: conceptual frameworks. Drawing on concepts from epistemology, ontology, and analytical methodology, it finds a philosophical foundation for conceptual frameworks in pragmatism and the ideas of Wittgenstein. Through the production and use of conceptual frameworks, strategic intelligence is revealed as both art and science, performing both creation and discovery. The use of such frameworks enables strategic intelligence to notice shifts as they begin to emerge. The article highlights Israeli theoretical perspectives, illustrates the practical utility of conceptual frameworks by applying them to Israeli cases, and suggests that using them contributes to strategy.

Citations

• What's wrong with the Intelligence Cycle
• Managing Strategic Surprise by Response to Weak Signals
• Perspective—Discovery Within Validation Logic: Deliberately Surfacing, Complementing, and Substituting Abductive Reasoning in Hypothetico-Deductive Inquiry

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