Abstract
Anyone engaged in the modern business environment, uses some form of reasoning to draw conclusions, while working with a limited set of data. This scenario describes the detective work often employed by Competitive Intelligence (CI) professionals. Despite the fact of being a fictional character, Sherlock Holmes is often regarded as the best detective of our time and his reasoning methods have been used and applied in various fields. The purpose of this study was to investigate which examples of inductive, deductive and abductive reasoning, as identified in 'The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes,' can be applied to the CI analysis process. To identify instances of reasoning, 'The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes' was analysed using thematic narrative analysis. The types of reasoning identified was linked to the CI process to establish how it could be used during the CI analysis process. The analysis of 'The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes' revealed the beloved character's use of abductive reasoning can support every phase and process of the CI function. The findings also suggest that it can be used as a valuable tool to assist decision making and strategic thinking. The researchers also suggest that further research be done on this topic to establish how abductive reasoning methods can be included in the training and skilling of CI practitioners.