Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors

Now nearing its sixtieth printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity—like all great breakthroughs—Porter’s analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces. Porter introduces one of the most powerful competitive tools yet developed: his three generic strategies—lowest cost, differentiation, and focus—which bring structure to the task of strategic positioning. He shows how competitive advantage can be defined in terms of relative cost and relative prices, thus linking it directly to profitability, and presents a whole new perspective on how profit is created and divided. In the almost two decades since publication, Porter's framework for predicting competitor behavior has transformed the way in which companies look at their rivals and has given rise to the new discipline of competitor assessment. More than a million managers in both large and small companies, investment analysts, consultants, students, and scholars throughout the world have internalized Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries, understand competitors, and choose competitive positions. The ideas in the book address the underlying fundamentals of competition in a way that is independent of the specifics of the ways companies go about competing. Competitive Strategy has filled a void in management thinking. It provides an enduring foundation and grounding point on which all subsequent work can be built. By bringing a disciplined structure to the question of how firms achieve superior profitability, Porter’s rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction Preface Introduction, 1980 PART I General Analytical Techniques Chapter 1 The Structural Analysis of Industries Structural Determinants of the Intensity of Competition Structural Analysis and Competitive Strategy Structural Analysis and Industry Definition Chapter 2 Generic Competitive Strategies Three Generic Strategies Stuck in the Middle Risks of the Generic Strategies Chapter 3 A Framework for Competitor Analysis The Components of Competitor Analysis Putting the Four Components Together -- The Competitor Response Profile Competitor Analysis and Industry Forecasting The Need for a Competitor Intelligence System Chapter 4 Market Signals Types of Market Signals The Use of History in Identifying Signals Can Attention to Market Signals Be a Distraction? Chapter 5 Competitive Moves Industry Instability: The Likelihood of Competitive Warfare Competitive Moves Commitment Focal Points A Note on Information and Secrecy Chapter 6 Strategy Toward Buyers and Suppliers Buyer Selection Purchasing Strategy Chapter 7 Structural Analysis Within Industries Dimensions of Competitive Strategy Strategic Groups Strategic Groups and a Firm's Profitability Implications for Formulation of Strategy The Strategic Group Map as an Analytical Tool Chapter 8 Industry Evolution Basic Concepts in Industry Evolution Evolutionary Processes Key Relationships in Industry Evolution PART II Generic Industry Environments Chapter 9 Competitive Strategy in Fragmented Industries What Makes an Industry Fragmented? Overcoming Fragmentation Coping with Fragmentation Potential Strategic Traps Formulating Strategy Chapter 10 Competitive Strategy in Emerging Industries The Structural Environment Problems Constraining Industry Development Early and Late Markets Strategic Choices Techniques for Forecasting Which Emerging Industries to Enter Chapter 11 The Transition to Industry Maturity Industry Change during Transition Some Strategic Implications of Transition Strategic Pitfalls in Transition Organizational Implications of Maturity Industry Transition and the General Manager Chapter 12 Competitive Strategy in Declining Industries Structural Determinants of Competition in Decline Strategic Alternatives in Decline Choosing a Strategy for Decline Pitfalls in Decline Preparing for Decline Chapter 13 Competition in Global Industries Sources and Impediments to Global Competition Evolution to Global Industries Competition in Global Industries Strategic Alternatives in Global Industries Trends Affecting Global Competition PART III Strategic Decisions Chapter 14 The Strategic Analysis of Vertical Integration Strategic Benefits and Costs of Vertical Integration Particular Strategic Issues in Forward Integration Particular Strategic Issues in Backward Integration Long-Term Contracts and the Economics of Information Illusions in Vertical Integration Decisions Chapter 15 Capacity Expansion Elements of the Capacity Expansion Decision Causes of Overbuilding Capacity Preemptive Strategies Chapter 16 Entry into New Businesses Entry through Internal Development Entry through Acquisition Sequenced Entry Appendix A Portfolio Techniques in Competitor Analysis Appendix B How to Conduct an Industry Analysis Bibliography Index About the Author

About the Author :
Michael E. Porter, one of the world's leading authorities on competitive strategy and international competitiveness, is the C. Roland Christensen Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. In 1983, Professor Porter was appointed to President Reagan's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, the initiative that triggered the competitiveness debate in America. He serves as an advisor to heads of state, governors, mayors, and CEOs throughout the world. The recipient of the Wells Prize in Economics, the Adam Smith Award, three McKinsey Awards, and honorary doctorates from the Stockholm School of Economics and six other universities, Porter is the author of fourteen books, among them Competitive Strategy, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, and Cases in Competitive Strategy, all published by The Free Press. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Review :
Fortune Three overarching game plans that work in one industry after another explain how thousands of real-world competitors come out on top. The New York Times American executives are grasping for a logic to global competition. Mr. Porter...has given them one. Choice Few books warrant the too-common publisher's blurb "landmark." This one does. Highest recommendation. Strategic Management Journal Represents a quantum leap...may well be one of the most important contributions to the discipline of strategic management. Journal of Business Strategy Any manager who studies and uses the materials in this book should be able to devise more successful strategies. Philip Kotler S.C. Johnson & Son, Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Northwestern University Porter's books on competitive strategy are the seminal works in the field.