The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy
Awareness of the five forces can help a company understand the structure of its industry and stake out a position that is more
profitable and less vulnerable to attack.
by Michael E. Porter
Harvard Business Review (HBR), January 2008.
Editor’s Note: In 1979, Harvard Business Review published “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy” by a young economist
and associate professor, Michael E. Porter. It was his first HBR article, and it started a revolution in the strategy field. In
subsequent decades, Porter has brought his signature economic rigor to the study of competitive strategy for corporations,
regions, nations, and, more recently, health care and philanthropy. “Porter’s five forces” have shaped a generation of academic
research and business practice. With prodding and assistance from Harvard Business School Professor Jan Rivkin and
longtime colleague Joan Magretta, Porter here reaffirms, updates, and extends the classic......
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Approximate Word Count: 10228
Approximate Pages: 40 (260 words per double-spaced page) |