Ethical and legal balance of modern economic intelligence

Against the background of the economic confrontation between Western countries and China, it is evident that the concept of economic intelligence is changing, manifesting itself in several planes simultaneously, and corporate confrontation moves to the level of protection of national interests. At the same time, the factors influencing the perception of corporate confrontation methods are subject to changes. The purpose of this study is to examine the current transformation of approaches to the understanding of ethical behavior in economic intelligence in the context of existing legal constraints. Based on the assumption that methods and tactics of economic intelligence are not static, the study aims to identify factors that influence their ethical perception. The study argues that the transformation of approaches to the understanding of ethical behavior and the very definition of ethical behavior in economic intelligence is directly related to the technological aspect, the transition of many business processes in the digital plane. In cyberspace, the psychological perception of wrongdoing changes significantly. Commitment to ethical behavior may naturally decrease due to the lack of personal contact between the agent of influence and the source.